University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


H  J|reuib  pfue^eb  from  f  fje  Jf  ire. 

AN  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH, 
BY    MRS.  JULIA    A.  J.  FOOTE, 

The  COLORED  EVANGELIST. 


This  is  a  Volume  of 
INTERESTING   INCIDENTS, 

RICH  RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCES, 

—  AND  — 

GREAT   ENCOURAGEMENTS    TO    FAITH! 


The  Author  is  Widely  and  Favorably  Known  as  a 
Laborer  in  the  Work  of  Holiness, 


A  Neat  Book,  containing   124  pages.      Price, 
50  cents.     AGENTS  WANTED.       . 

Sent  by  Mail,  on  receipt  of  the  Price,  by  ad- 
dressing — 

Mrs.  J.  A.  J.  FOOTE, 

21  Oregon  st,  Cleveland,  0. 
0/V  The  Christian  Harvester, 

18  College  st,  Cleveland,  0. 


A  BRAND 


PLUCKED  FROM  THE  FIKE. 


AN  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

BY 

MRS.  JULIA  A.  J.  FOOTE* 


'Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  ?  "— ZECH.  in.  2. 


CLEVELAND,  OHIO: 

Printed  for  the  Author  by  "W.  F.  Schneider. 
1879. 


Entered    according  to  Act  of    Congress,  in  the  year  1879,  by 

JULIA   A .  J.  F  OOTE, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


PREFACE. 


I  HAVE  written  this  little  book  after  many 
prayers  to  ascertain  the  will  of  God  —  having 
long  had  an  impression  to  do  it.  I  have  a 
consciousness  of  obedience  to  the  will  of  my 
dear  Lord  and  Master. 

My  object  has  been  to  testify  more  exten 
sively  to  the  sufficiency  of  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  save  from  all  sin.  Many  have  not 
the  means  of  purchasing  large  and  expensive 
works  on  this  important  Bible  theme. 

Those  who  are  fully  in  the  truth  cannot 
possess  a  prejudiced  or  sectarian  spirit.  As 
they  hold  fellowship  with  Christ,  they  cannot 
reject  those  whom  he  has  received,  nor  receive 
those  whom  he  rejects,  but  all  are  brought 
into  a  blessed  harmony  with  God  and  each 

other. 

3 


PREFACE. 

The  Christian  who  does  not  believe  in  sal 
vation  from  all  sin  in  this  life,  cannot  have  a 
constant,  complete  peace.  The  evil  of  the 
heart  will  rise  up  and  give  trouble.  But  let 
all  such  remember  the  words  of  Paul :  "  I  am 
crucified  with  Christ ;  nevertheless,  I  live ;  yet 
not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me ;  and  the  life 
which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave 
himself  for  me."  "Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive." 
The  blood  of  Jesus  will  not  only  purge  your 
conscience  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  from  dead 
works,  but  it  will  destroy  the  very  root  of  sin 
that  is  in  the  heart,  by  faith,  so  that  you  may 
serve  the  living  God  in  the  beauty  of  holiness. 

My  earnest  desire  is  that  many — especially 
of  my  own  race  —  may  be  led  to  believe  and 
enter  into  rest;  "For  we  which  have  believed 
do  enter  into  rest" — sweet  soul  rest. 


INTRODUCTION, 


THE  author  of  this  sketch  is  well  known  in 
many  parts  of  Ohio,  and  in  other  days  was 
known  in  several  States,  as  an  Evangelist. 
The  purity  of  her  life  and  the  success  of  her 
labors  are  acknowledged.  After  severe  mental 
and  spiritual  conflicts,  she  obeyed  God,  in 
public  labor  for  his  cause,  and  still  continues 
in  this,  although,  with  many,  she  is  thereby 
guilty  of  three  great  crimes. 

1.  The  first  is,  that  of  Color.  For,  though 
not  now  the  slaves  of  individual  men,  our 
brethren  continue  to  be  under  the  bondage  of 
society.  But  if  there  be  crime  in  color,  it  lies 
at  the  door  of  Him  who  "  hath  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the 
face  of  the  earth,"  and  who  declares  himself  to 
be  "  no  respecter  of  persons."  Holiness  takes 
5 


o  INTRODUCTION. 

the  prejudice  of  color  out  of  both  the  white 
and  the  black,  and  declares  that  u  The  [heart's] 
the  standard  of  the  man." 

2.  In  the  next  place,  we  see  the  crime  of 
Womanhood.     As  though  any  one,  with  heart 
and   lips   of  love,   may  not   speak   forth   the 
praises  of  Him   who   hath   called   us   out   of 
darkness  into  light!     The  "anointing  which 
abideth"  unseals  all  lips,  so  that  in  Christ 
"there  is  neither  male  nor  female.''     Praise 
God  forever ! 

3.  In  the  last  place,  our  sister,  as  stated,  is 
an  Evangelist.     We  respect  the  pastoral  office 
highly,  for  we  know  the  heart  of  a  pastor;  but 
while   the    regular    field-hands    are   reaping, 
pray,  let  Ruth  glean,  even  if  "  her  hap  is  to 
light  on  a  part  of  the  field  belonging  to  Boaz." 

"If  you  cannot,  in  the  harvest, 

Garner  up  the  richest  sheaves, 
Many  a  grain,  both  ripe  and  golden, 

Will  the  careless  reapers  leave; 
Go  and  glean  among  the  briers, 

Growing  rank  against  the  wall ; 
For  it  may  be  that  their  shadow 

Hides  the  heaviest  wheat  of  all." 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

Our  dear  sister  is  not  a  genius.  She  is 
simply  strong  in  common  sense,  and  strong  in 
the  Lord.  Those  of  us  who  heard  her  preach, 
last  year,  at  Lodi,  where  she  held  the  almost 
breathless  attention  of  five  thousand  people, 
by  the  eloquence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  know  well 
where  is  the  hiding  of  her  power. 

This  is  a  simple  narrative  of  a  life  of  inci 
dents,  many  of  them  stirring  and  strange.  We 
commend  it  to  all ;  and  with  it,  the  soundness 
of  the  doctrine  and  exhortation  with  which 
Sister  Foote  enforces  the  sublime  cause  of 

Holiness. 

THOS.   K.   DOTY. 


Christian  Harvester  Office, 

Cleveland,  June,  1879. 


CONTENTS. 


„     ,  PAGE 

Preface 3 

Introduction 5 

Chapter  I — Birth  and  Parentage 9 

II— Learning  the  Alphabet 14 

III — The  Primes — Going  to  School 18 

IV — My  Teacher  Hung  for  Crime 21 

V — An  Undeserved  Whipping 24 

VI— First  and  Last  Dancing 27 

VII — My  Conversion 32 

VIII — A  Desire  for  Knowledge — Inward  Foes 35 

IX — Various  Hopes  Blasted 38 

X — Disobedience,  but  Happy  Results 42 

XI— A  Religion  as  Old  as  the  Bible 46 

XII— My  Marriage 48 

XIII— Boston— The  Work  of  Full  Salvation 52 

XIV— Early  Fruit  Gathered  Home 5G 

XV— New  and  Unpleasant  Revelations 59 

XVI— A  Long-Lost  Brother  Found 62 

XVII— A  Call  to  Preach  the  Gospel G.I 

XVIII— Heavenly  Visitations  Again (18 

XIX— Public  Effort— Excommunication 72 

XX— Women  in  the  Gospel 77 

XXI— The  Lord's  Leading— Philadelphia 81 

XXII— A  Visit  to  My  Parents— Further  Labors 84 

XXIII— Color  Indignities— General  Conference 90 

XXIV— Death  of  My  Husband  and  Father 94 

XXV— Work  in  Various  Places 97 

XXVI— A  "Threshing"  Sermon 101 

XXVII— My  Cleveland  Home— Later  Labors 107 

XXVIII— A  Word  to  My  Christian  Sisters 112 

XXIX— Love  not  the  World 110 

XXX— How  to  Obtain  Sanctification ...  122 


Plucked  from  the  Fire, 


CHAPTER   I. 


I  WAS  born  in  1823,  in  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
I  was  my  mother's  fourth  child.  My  father 
was  born  free,  but  was  stolen,  when  a  child, 
and  enslaved.  My  mother  was  born  a  slave, 
in  the  State  of  New  York.  She  had  one  very 
cruel  master  and  mistress.  This  man,  whom 
she  was  obliged  to  call  master,  tied  her  up  and 
whipped  her  because  she  refused  to  submit 
herself  to  him,  and  reported  his  conduct  to 
her  mistress.  After  the  whipping,  he  himself 
washed  her  quivering  back  with  strong  salt 
water.  At  the  expiration  of  a  week  she  was 
sent  to  change  her  clothing,  which  stuck  fast 
to  her  back.  Her  mistress,  seeing  that  she 
could  not  remove  it,  took  hold  of  the  rough 
tow-linen  under-garment  and  pulled  it  off  over 
9 


10  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

her  head  with  a  jerk,  which  took  the  skin  with 
it,  leaving  her  back  all  raw  and  sore. 

This  cruel  master  soon  sold  my  mother, 
and  she  passed  from  one  person's  hands  to 
another's,  until  she  found  a  comparatively 
kind  master  and  mistress  in  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cheeseman,  who  kept  a  public  house. 

My  father  endured  many  hardships  in  sla 
very,  the  worst  of  which  was  his  constant 
exposure  to  all  sorts  of  weather.  There  being 
no  railroads  at  that  time,  all  goods  and  mer 
chandise  were  moved  from  place  to  place  with 
teams,  one  of  which  my  father  drove. 

My  father  bought  himself,  and  then  his 
wife  and  their  first  child,  at  that  time  an 
infant.  That  infant  is  now  a  woman,  more 
than  seventy  years  old,  and  an  invalid, 
dependent  upon  the  bounty  of  her  poor  rela 
tives. 

I  remember  hearing  my  parents  tell  what 
first  led  them  to  think  seriously  of  their  sinful 
course.  One  night,  as  they  were  on  their  way 
home  from  a  dance,  they  came  to  a  stream  of 
water,  which,  owing  to  rain  the  night  pre 
vious,  had  risen  and  carried  away  the  log 
crossing.  In  their  endeavor  to  ford  the  stream, 
my  mother  made  a  misstep,  and  came  very 
nearly  being  drowned,  with  her  babe  in  her 
arms.  This  nearly  fatal  accident  made  such 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  11 

an  impression  upon  their  minds  that  they 
said,  "  We'll  go  to  no  more  dances;"  and  they 
kept  their  word.  Soon  after,  they  made  a 
public  profession  of  religion  and  united  with 
the  M.  E.  Church.  They  were  not  treated  as 
Christian  believers,  but  as  poor  lepers.  They 
were  obliged  to  occupy  certain  seats  in  one 
corner  of  the  gallery,  and  dared  not  come  down 
to  partake  of  the  Holy  Communion  until  the 
last  white  communicant  had  left  the  table. 

One  day  my  mother  and  another  colored  sis 
ter  waited  until  all  the  white  people  had,  as 
they  thought,  been  served,  when  they  started 
for  the  communion  table.  Just  as  they  reached 
the  lower  door,  two  of  the  poorer  class  of  white 
folks  arose  to  go  to  the  table.  At  this,  a  mother 
in  Israel  caught  hold  of  my  mother's  dress  and 
said  to  her,  "  Don't  you  know  better  than  to  go 
to  the  table  when  white  folks  are  there  ?  "  Ah  I 
she  did  know  better  than  to  do  such  a  thing 
purposely.  This  was  one  of  the  fruits  of  sla 
very.  Although  professing  to  love  the  same 
God,  members  of  the  same  church,  and  expect 
ing  to  find  the  same  heaven  at  last,  they  could 
not  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  until  the 
lowest  of  the  whites  had  been  served.  Were 
they  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit?  Who  shall  say? 
The  Spirit  of  Truth  can  never  be  mistaken, 
nor  can  he  inspire  anything  unholy.  How 


12  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

many  at  the  present  day  profess  great  spiritu 
ality,  and  even  holiness,  and  yet  are  deluded 
by  a  spirit  of  error,  which  leads  them  to  say  to 
the  poor  and  the  colored  ones  among  them, 
"  Stand  back  a  little — I  am  holier  than  thou." 

My  parents  continued  to  attend  to  the  ordi 
nances  of  God  as  instructed,  but  knew  little  of 
the  power  of  Christ  to  save ;  for  their  spiritual 
guides  were  as  blind  as  those  they  led. 

It  was  the  custom,  at  that  time,  for  all  to 
drink  freely  of  wine,  brandy  and  gin.  I  can 
remember  when  it  was  customary  at  funerals, 
as  well  as  at  weddings,  to  pass  around  the 
decanter  and  glasses,  and  sometimes  it  hap 
pened  that  the  pall-bearers  could  scarcely 
move  out  with  the  coffin.  When  not  handed 
round,  one  after  another  would  go  to  the  closet 
and  drink  as  much  as  they  chose  of  the  liquors 
they  were  sure  to  find  there.  The  officiating 
clergyman  would  imbibe  as  freely  as  any  one. 
My  parents  kept  liquor  in  the  house  con 
stantly,  and  every  morning  sling  was  made, 
and  the  children  were  given  the  bottom  of  the 
cup,  where  the  sugar  and  a  little  of  the  liquor 
was  left,  on  purpose  for  them.  Tt  is  no  won 
der,  is  it,  that  every  one  of  my  mother's  chil 
dren  loved  the  taste  of  liquor? 

One  day,  when  I  was  but  five  years  of  age,  I 
found  the  blue  chest,  where  the  black  bottle 


FROM    THE   FIRE.  13 

was  kept,  unlocked — an  unusual  thing.  Rais 
ing  the  lid,  I  took  the  bottle,  put  it  to  my 
mouth,  and  drained  it  to  the  bottom.  Soon 
after,  the  rest  of  the  children  becoming  fright 
ened  at  my  actions,  ran  and  told  aunt  Giney — - 
an  old  colored  lady  living  in  a  part  of  our 
house — who  sent  at  once  for  my  mother,  who 
was  away  working.  She  came  in  great  haste, 
and  at  once  pronounced  me  DRUNK.  And  so  I 
was — stupidly  drunk.  They  walked  with  me, 
and  blew  tobacco  smoke  into  my  face,  to  bring 
me  to.  Sickness  almost  unto  death  followed, 
but  my  life  was  spared.  I  was  like  a  "  brand 
plucked  from  the  burning." 

Dear  reader,  have  you  innocent  children, 
given  you  from  the  hand  of  God?  Children, 
whose  purity  rouses  all  that  is  holy  and  good 
in  your  nature?  Do  not,  I  pray,  give  to  these 
little  ones  of  God  the  accursed  cup  which  will 
send  them  down  to  misery  and  death.  Listen 
to  the  voice  of  conscience,  the  woes  of  the 
drunkard,  the  wailing  of  poverty-stricken 
women  and  children,  and  touch  not  the 
accursed  cup.  From  Sinai  come  the  awful 
words  of  Jehovah,  "  No  drunkard  shall  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  heaven." 


14  A   BRAND    PLUCKED 


CHAPTER   II. 

i£—  ^earning  the 


I  DO  not  remember  having  any  distinct 
religious  impression  until  I  was  about  eight 
years  old.  At  this  time  there  was  a  "big 
meeting,"  as  it  was  called,  held  in  the  church 
to  which  my  parents  belonged.  Two  of  the 
ministers  called  at  our  house:  one  had  long 
gray  hair  and  beard,  such  as  I  had  never  seen 
before.  He  came  to  me,  placed  his  hand  on 
my  head,  and  asked  me  if  I  prayed.  I  said, 
"  Yes,  sir,"  but  was  so  frightened  that  I  fell 
down  on  my  knees  before  him  and  began  to 
say  the  only  prayer  I  knew,  "Now  I  lay  me 
down  to  sleep."  He  lifted  me  up,  saying, 
"You  must  be  a  good  girl  and  pray."  He 
prayed  for  me  long  and  loud.  I  trembled  with 
fear,  and  cried  as  though  my  heart  would 
break,  for  I  thought  he  was  the  Lord,  and  I 
must  die.  After  they  had  gone,  my  mother 
talked  with  me  about  my  soul  more  than  she 
ever  had  before,  and  told  me  that  this  preacher 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  15 

was  a  good  man,  but  not  the  Lord;  and  that, 
if  I  were  a  good  girl,  and  said  my  prayers,  I 
would  go  to  heaven.  This  gave  me  great  com 
fort.  I  stopped  crying,  but  continued  to  say, 
"  Now  I  lay  me."  A  white  woman,  who  came 
to  our  house  to  sew,  taught  me  the  Lord's 
prayer.  No  tongue  can  tell  the  joy  that  filled 
my  poor  heart  when  I  could  repeat,  "  Our 
Father,  which  art  in  heaven."  It  has  always 
seemed  to  me  that  1  was  converted  at  this 
time. 

When  my  father  had  family  worship,  which 
was  every  Sunday  morning,  he  used  to  sing, 

"Lord,  in  the  morning  thou  shalt  hear 
My  voice  ascending  high." 

I  took  great  delight  in  this  worship,  and 
began  to  have  a  desire  to  learn  to  read  the 
Bible.  There  were  none  of  our  family  able  to 
read  except  my  father,  who  had  picked  up  a 
little  here  and  there,  and  who  could,  by  care 
fully  spelling  out  the  words,  read  a  little  in 
the  New  Testament,  which  was  a  great  pleas 
ure  to  him.  My  father  would  very  gladly  have 
educated  his  children,  but  there  were  no 
schools  where  colored  children  were  allowed. 
One  day,  when  he  was  reading,  I  asked  him  to 
teach  me  the  letters.  He  replied,  "  Child,  I 
hardly  know  them  myself."  Nevertheless,  he 


16  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

commenced  with  "A,"  and  taught  me  the 
alphabet.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  my  childish 
glee  over  this,  my  first  lesson.  The  children 
of  the  present  time,  taught  at  five  years  of 
age,  can  not  realize  my  joy  at  being  able  to 
say  the  entire  alphabet  when  I  was  nine  years 
old. 

I  still  continued  to  repeat  the  Lord's  praj^er 
and  a  Now  I  lay  me,"  &c.,  but  not  so  often  as  I 
had  done  months  before.  Perhaps  I  had  begun 
to  backslide,  for  I  was  but  a  child,  surrounded 
by  children,  and  deprived  of  the  proper  kind 
of  teaching.  This  is  my  only  excuse  for  not 
proving  as  faithful  to  God  as  I  should  have 
done. 

Dear  children,  with  enlightened  Christian 
parents  to  teach  you,  how  thankful  you  should 
be  that  "from  a  child  you  are  able  to  say  that 
you  have  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which 
are  able  to  make  you  wise  unto  salvation, 
through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  I 
hope  all  my  young  readers  will  heed  the  admo 
nition,  "Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the 
days  of  thy  youth,"  etc.  It  will  save  you  from 
a  thousand  snares  to  mind  religion  young. 
God  says :  "  I  love  those  that  love  me,  and 
those  that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me."  Oh ! 
I  am  glad  that  we  are  never  too  young  to  pray, 
or  too  ignorant  or  too  sinful.  The  younger, 


FROM   THE    FIRE.  17 

the  more  welcome.     You  have  nothing  to  fear, 
dear  children;  come  right  to  Jesus. 

Why  was  A  clam  afraid  of  the  voice  of  God 
in  the  garden?  It  was  not  a  strange  voice;  it 
was  a  voice  he  had  always  loved.  Why  did 
he  flee  away,  and  hide  himself  among  the 
trees?  It  was  because  he  had  disobeyed  God. 
Sin  makes  us  afraid  of  God,  who  is  holy;  noth 
ing  but  sin  makes  us  fear  One  so  good  and  so 
kind.  It  is  a  sin  for  children  to  disobey  their 
parents.  The  Bible  says  :  "  Honor  thy  father 
and  thy  mother."  Dear  children,  honor  your 
parents  by  loving  and  obeying  them.  If  Jesus, 
the  Lord  of  glory,  was  subject  and  obedient  to 
his  earthly  parents,  will  you  not  try  to  follow 
his  example  ?  Lift  up  your  hearts  to  the  dear, 
loving  Jesus,  who,  when  on  earth,  took  little 
children  in  his  arms,  and  blessed  them.  He 
will  help  you,  if  you  pray,  "Our  Father,  wrhich 
art  in  heaven,  thy  dear  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  my 
Saviour,  did  say,' '  Suffer  little  children  to  come 
unto  me.'  I  am  a  little  child,  and  I  come  to 
thee.  Draw  near  to  me,  I  pray  thee.  Hear  me, 
and  forgive  the  many  wicked  things  I  have 
done,  and  accept  my  thanks  for  the  many  good 
gifts  thou  hast  given  me.  Most  of  all,  I  thank 
thee,  dear  Father,  for  the  gift  of  thy  dear  Son, 
Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  me,  and  for  whose 
sake  I  pray  thee  hear  my  prayer.  Amen." 


18  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 


CHAPTER  III. 
tu 


WHEN  I  was  ten  years  of  age  I  was  sent  to 
live  in  the  country  with  a  family  by  the  name 
of  Prime.  They  had  no  children,  and  soon 
became  quite  fond  of  me.  I  really  think  Mrs. 
Prime  loved  me.  She  had  a  brother  who  was 
dying  with  consumption,  and  she  herself  was 
a  cripple.  For  some  time  after  I  went  there, 
Mr.  John,  the  brother,  was  able  to  walk  from 
his  father's  house,  which  was  quite  near,  to 
ours,  and  I  used  to  stand,  with  tears  in  my 
eyes,  and  watch  him  as  he  slowly  moved  across 
the  fields,  leaning  against  the  fence  to  rest 
himself  by  the  way.  I  heard  them  say  he 
could  not  live  much  longer,  and  that  worried 
me  dreadfully;  and  then  I  used  to  wonder  if 
he  said  his  prayers.  He  always  treated  me 
kindly,  and  often  stopped  to  talk  with  me. 

One  day,  as  he  started  for  home,  I  stepped 
up  to  him  and  said,  "  Mr.  John,  do  you  say 
your  prayers?"  and  then  I  began  to  cry.  He 
looked  at  me  for  a  moment,  then  took  my  hand 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  19 

in  his  and  said:  "Sometimes  I  pray;  do  you?" 
I  answered,  "  Yes,  sir."  Then  said  he,  "  You 
must  pray  for  me" — and  turned  and  left  me. 
I  ran  to  the  barn,  fell  down  on  my  knees,  and 
said :  "  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  send 
that  good  man  to  put  his  hand  on  Mr.  John's 
head."  I  repeated  this  many  times  a  day  as 
long  as  he  lived.  After  his  death  I  heard 
them  say  he  died  very  happy,  and  had  gone  to 
heaven.  Oh,  how  my  little  heart  leaped  for 
joy  when  1  heard  that  Mr.  John  had  gone  to 
heaven ;  I  was  sure  the  good  man  had  been 
there  and  laid  his  hand  on  his  head.  "  Bless 
the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within 
me  praise  his  holy  name,"  for  good  men  and 
good  women,  who  are  not  afraid  to  teach  dear 
children  to  pray. 

The  Primes  being  an  old  and  influential 
family,  they  were  able  to  send  me  to  a  country 
school,  where  I  was  well  treated  by  both  teacher 
and  scholars. 

Children  were  trained  very  differently  in 
those  days  from  what  they  are  now.  We  were 
taught  to  treat  those  older  than  ourselves  with 
great  respect.  Boys  were  required  to  make  a 
bow,  and  girls  to  drop  a  courtesy,  to  any  per 
son  whom  they  might  chance  to  meet  in  the 
street.  Now,  many  of  us  dread  to  meet  chil 
dren  almost  as  much  as  we  do  the  half-drunken 


20  A    BRAND   PLUCKED 

men  coming  out  of  the  saloons.  Who  is  to 
blame  for  this?  Parents,  are  you  training 
your  children  in  the  way  they  should  go? 
Are  you  teaching  them  obedience  and  respect? 
Are  you  bringing  your  little  ones  to  Jesus? 
Are  they  found  at  your  side  in  the  house  of 
God,  on  Sunday,  or  are  they  roving  the  streets 
or  fields  ?  Or,  what  is  worse,  are  they  at  home 
reading  books  or  newspapers  that  corrupt  the 
heart,  bewilder  the  mind,  and  lead  down  to 
the  bottomless  pit?  Father,  mother,  look  on 
this  picture,  and  then  on  the  dear  children  God 
has  given  you  to  train  up  for  lives  of  useful 
ness  that  will  fit  them  for  heaven.  May  the 
dear  Father  reign  in  and  rule  over  you,  is  the 
prayer  of  one  who  desires  to  meet  you  all  in 
heaven. 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  21 


CHAPTER   IV. 
far 


MY  great  anxiety  to  read  the  Testament 
caused  me  to  learn  to  spell  quite  rapidly,  and 
I  was  just  commencing  to  read  when  a  great 
calamity  came  upon  us.  Our  teacher's  name 
was  John  Van  Paten.  He  was  keeping  com 
pany  with  a  young  lady,  who  repeated  to  him 
a  remark  made  by  a  lady  friend  of  hers,  to  the 
effect  that  John  Van  Paten  was  not  very 
smart,  and  she  didn't  see  why  this  young  lady 
should  wish  to  marry  him.  He  became  very 
angry,  and,  armed  with  a  shotgun,  proceeded 
to  the  lady's  house,  and  shot  her  dead.  She 
fell,  surrounded  by  her  five  weeping  children. 
He  then  started  for  town,  to  give  himself  up  to 
the  authorities.  On  the  way  he  met  the 
woman's  husband  and  told  him  what  he  had 
done.  The  poor  husband  found,  on  reaching 
home,  that  John's  words  were  but  too  true;  his 
wife  had  died  almost  instantly. 

After  the  funeral,  the  bereaved  man  went  to 
the  prison  and  talked  with  John  and  prayed 


22  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

for  his  conversion  until  his  prayers  were 
answered,  and  John  Van  Paten,  the  murderer, 
professed  faith  in  Christ. 

Finally  the  day  came  for  the  condemned  to 
he  publicly  hung  (they  did  not  plead  emo 
tional  insanity  in  those  days).  Everybody 
went  to  the  execution,  and  I  with  the  rest. 
Such  a  sight  1  Never  shall  I  forget  the  execu 
tion  of  my  first  school-teacher.  On  the  scaf 
fold  he  made  a  speech,  which  I  cannot  remem 
ber,  only  that  he  said  he  was  happy,  and  ready 
to  die.  He  sang  a  hymn,  the  chorus  of  which 
was, 

"I  am  bound  for  the  kingdom  ; 
Will  you  go  to  glory  with  me?" 

clasping  his  hands,  and  rejoicing  all  the 
while. 

The  remembrance  of  this  scene  left  such  an 
impression  upon  my  mind  that  I  could  not 
sleep  for  many  a  night.  As  soon  as  I  fell  into 
a  doze,  I  could  see  my  teacher's  head  tumbling 
about  the  room  as  fast  as  it  could  go ;  I  would 
waken  with  a  scream,  and  could  not  be  quieted 
until  some  one  came  and  staid  with  me. 

Never  since  that  day  have  I  heard  of  a  per 
son  being  hung,  but  a  shudder  runs  through 
my  whole  frame,  and  a  trembling  seizes  me. 
Oh,  what  a  barbarous  thing  is  the  taking  of 
human  life,  even  though  it  be  "a  life  for  a 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  23 

life,"  as  many  believe  God  commands.  That 
was  the  old  dispensation.  Jesus  said:  "A  new 
commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love 
one  another."  Again:  "Resist  not  evil;  but 
whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  thy  right  cheek, 
turn  to  him  the  other  also."  Living  as  we  do 
in  the  Gospel  dispensation,  may  God  help  us 
to  follow  the  precepts  and  example  of  Him, 
who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again, 
and  in  the  agony  of  death  prayed :  "  Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  Christian  men,  vote  as  you  pray,  that 
the  legalized  traffic  in  ardent  spirits  may  be 
abolished,  and  God  grant  that  capital  punish 
ment  may  be  banished  from  our  land. 


24  A   BRAND    PLUCKED 


CHAPTER   V. 


ALL  this  time  the  Primes  had  treated  me  as 
though  I  were  their  own  child.  Now  my  feel 
ings  underwent  a  great  change  toward  them  ; 
my  dislike  for  them  was  greater  than  my  love 
had  been,  and  this  was  the  reason.  One  day, 
Mrs.  Prime,  having  company,  sent  me  to  the 
cellar  to  bring  up  some  little  pound  cakes, 
which  she  had  made  a  few  days  previously. 
There  were  but  two  or  three  left;  these  I 
brought  to  her.  She  asked  me  where  the  rest 
were.  I  told  her  "I  didn't  know."  At  this 
she  grew  very  angry,  and  said,  "  I'll  make  you 
know,  when  the  company  is  gone."  She,  who 
had  always  been  so  kind  and  motherly,  fright 
ened  me  so  by  her  looks  and  action  that  I 
trembled  so  violently  I  could  not  speak.  This 
was  taken  as  an  evidence  of  my  guilt.  The 
dear  Lord  alone  knows  how  my  little  heart 
ached,  for  I  was  entirely  innocent  of  the  crime 
laid  to  my  charge.  I  had  no  need  to  steal 
anything,  for  I  had  a  plenty  of  everything 
there  was. 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  25 

There  was  a  boy  working  for  Mr.  Prime  that 
I  always  thought  took  the  cakes,  for  I  had 
seen  him  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket  hastily, 
and  wipe  his  mouth  carefully,  if  he  met  any 
one  on  his  way  from  the  cellar.  But  what 
could  I  do?  I  could  not  prove  it,  and  his 
stout  denial  was  believed  as  against  my 
unsupported  word. 

That  night  I  wished  over  and  over  again 
that  I  could  be  hung  as  John  Van  Paten  had 
been.  In  the  darkness  and  silence,  Satan 
came  to  me  and  told  rne  to  go  to  the  barn  and 
hang  myself.  In  the  morning  I  was  fully 
determined  to  do  so.  I  went  to  the  barn  for 
that  purpose,  but  that  boy,  whom  I  disliked 
very  much,  was  there,  and  he  laughed  at  me 
as  hard  as  he  could.  All  at  once  my  weak 
feelings  left  me,  and  I  sprang  at  him  in  a 
great  rage,  such  as  I  had  never  known  before ; 
but  he  eluded  my  grasp,  and  ran  away,  laugh 
ing.  Thus  was  I  a  second  time  saved  from  a 
dreadful  sin. 

That  day,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Prime,  on  their 
return  from  town,  brought  a  rawhide.  This 
Mrs.  Prime  applied  to  my  back  until  she  was 
tired,  all  the  time  insisting  that  I  should  con 
fess  that  I  took  the  cakes.  This,  of  course,  I 
could  not  do.  She  then  put  the  rawhide  up, 


26  A   BRAND    PLUCKED 

saying,  "  I'll  use  it  again  tomorrow ;  I  am 
determined  to  make  you  tell  the  truth." 

That  afternoon  Mrs.  Prime  went  away,  leav 
ing  me  alone  in  the  house.  I  carried  the  raw 
hide  out  to  the  wood  pile,  took  the  axe,  and 
cut  it  up  into  small  pieces,  which  I  threw 
away,  determined  not  to  be  whipped  with  that 
thing  again.  The  next  morning  I  rose  very 
early,  before  any  one  else  was  up  in  the  house, 
and  started  for  home.  It  was  a  long,  lonely 
road,  through  the  woods;  every  sound  fright 
ened  me,  and  made  me  run  for  fear  some  one 
was  after  me.  When  I  reached  home,  I  told 
my  mother  all  that  had  happened,  but  she  did 
not  say  very  much  about  it.  In  the  afternoon 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Prime  came  to  the  house,  and 
had  a  long  talk  with  us  about  the  affair.  My 
mother  did  not  believe  I  had  told  a  falsehood, 
though  she  did  not  say  much  before  me.  She 
told  me  in  after  years  that  she  talked  very 
sharply  to  the  Primes  when  I  was  not  by. 
They  promised  not  to  whip  me  again,  and 
my  mother  sent  me  back  with  them,  very 
much  against  my  will. 

They  were  as  kind  to  me  as  ever,  after  my 
return,  though  I  did  not  think  so  at  the  time, 
I  was  not  contented  to  stay  there,  and  left 
when  I  was  about  twelve  years  old.  The 
experience  of  that  last  year  made  me  quite  a 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  27 

hardened  sinner.  I  did  not  pray  very  often, 
and,  when  I  did,  something  seemed  to  say  to 
me,  "  That  good  man,  with  the  white  hair, 
don't  like  you  any  more." 


CHAPTER   VI. 


I  HAD  grown  to  be  quite  a  large  girl  by  this 
time,  so  that  my  mother  arranged  for  me  to 
stay  at  home,  do  the  work,  and  attend  the 
younger  children  while  she  went  out  to  days' 
work.  My  older  sister  went  to  service,  and 
the  entire  care  of  four  youngsters  devolved 
upon  me  —  a  thing  which  I  did  not  at  all  relish. 

About  this  time  my  parents  moved  to 
Albany,  where  there  was  an  African  Method 
ist  Church.  My  father  and  mother  both  joined 
the  church,  and  went  regularly  to  all  the  servi 
ces,  taking  all  the  children  with  them.  This 
was  the  first  time  in  my  life  that  I  was  able  to 
understand,  with  any  degree  of  intelligence, 


28  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

what  religion  was.  The  minister  frequently 
visited  our  house,  singing,  praying,  and  talk 
ing  with  us  all.  I  was  very  much  wrought 
upon  by  these  visits,  and  began  to  see  such  a 
beauty  in  religion  that  1  resolved  to  serve  God 
whatever  might  happen.  But  this  resolution 
was  soon  broken,  having  been  made  in  my 
own  strength. 

The  pomps  and  vanities  of  this  world  began 
to  engross  my  attention  as  they  never  had 
before.  I  was  at  just  the  right  age  to  be  led 
away  by  improper  acquaintances.  I  would 
gain  my  mother's  consent  to  visit  some  of  the 
girls,  and  then  would  go  off  to  a  party,  and 
once  went  to  the  theater,  the  only  time  I  ever 
went  in  my  life.  My  mother  found  this  out, 
and  punished  me  so  severely  that  I  never  had 
any  desire  to  go  again.  Thus  I  bartered  the 
things  of  the  kingdom  for  the  fooleries  of  the 
world. 

All  this  time  conviction  followed  me,  and 
there  were  times  when  I  felt  a  faint  desire  to 
serve  the  Lord;  but  I  had  had  a  taste  of  the 
world,  and  thought  I  could  not  part  with  its 
idle  pleasures.  The  Holy  Spirit  seemed  not 
to  strive  with  me;  I  was  apparently  left  to 
take  my  fill  of  the  world  and  its  pleasures. 
Yet  I  did  not  entirely  forget  God.  I  went  to 
church,  and  said  my  prayers,  though  not  so 


FROM   THE    FIRE.  29 

often  as  I  had  done.  I  thank  my  heavenly 
Father  that  he  did  not  quite  leave  me  to  my 
own  self-destruction,  but  followed  me,  some 
times  embittering  my  pleasures  and  thwarting 
my  schemes  of  worldly  happiness,  and  most 
graciously  preserving  me  from  following  the 
full  bent  of  my  inclination. 

My  parents  had  at  this  time  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  with  my  eldest  sister,  who  would  run 
away  from  home  and  go  to  dances  —  a  place 
forbidden  to  us  all.  The  first  time  I  ever 
attempted  to  dance  was  at  a  quilting,  where 
the  boys  came  in  the  evening,  and  brought 
with  them  an  old  man  to  fiddle.  I  refused 
several  invitations,  fearing  my  mother  might 
come  or  send  for  me ;  but,  as  she  did  not,  I 
yielded  to  the  persuasions  of  the  old  fiddler, 
and  went  on  to  the  floor  with  him,  to  dance. 

The  last  time  I  made  a  public  effort  at 
dancing  I  seemed  to  feel  a  heavy  hand  upon 
my  arm  pulling  me  from  the  floor.  I  wras  so 
frightened  that  I  fell ;  the  people  all  crowded 
around  me,  asking  what  was  the  matter,  think 
ing  I  was  ill.  I  told  them  I  was  not  sick,  but 
that  it  was  wrong  for  me  to  dance.  Such  loud, 
mocking  laughter  as  greeted  my  answer, 
methinks  is  not  often  heard  this  side  the  gates 
of  torment,  and  only  then  when  they  are 
opened  to  admit  a  false-hearted  professor  of 


30  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

Christianity.  They  called  me  a  "little  Meth 
odist  fool,"  and  urged  me  to  try  it  again.  Being 
shamed  into  it,  I  did  try  it  again,  but  I  had 
taken  only  a  few  steps,  when  I  was  seized  with 
a  smothering  sensation,  and  felt  the  same 
heavy  grasp  upon  my  arm,  and  in  my  ears  a 
voice  kept  saying,  u  Repent !  repent ! "  I 
immediately  left  the  floor  and  sank  into  a  seat. 
The  company  gathered  around  me,  but  not 
with  mocking  laughter  as  before ;  an  invisible 
presence  seemed  to  fill  the  place.  The  dance 
broke  up — all  leaving  very  quietly.  Thus  was 
I  again  "  plucked  as  a  brand  from  the  burning." 

Had  I  persisted  in  dancing,  I  believe  God 
would  have  smitton  me  dead  on  the  spot. 
.Dear  reader,  do  you  engage  in  this  ensnaring 
folly  of  dancing  ?  Reflect  a  moment ;  ask 
yourself,  What  good  is  all  this  dissipation  of 
body  and  mind?  You  are  ruining  your 
health,  squandering  your  money,  and  losing 
all  relish  for  spiritual  things.  What  good  does 
it  do  you  ?  Does  dancing  help  to  make  you  a 
better  Christian  ?  Does  it  brighten  your  hopes 
of  happiness  beyond  the  grave?  The  Holy 
Spirit  whispers  to  your  inmost  soul,  to  come 
out  from  among  the  wicked  and  be  separate. 

I  am  often  told  that  the  Bible  does  not 
condemn  dancing  —  that  David  danced.  Yes, 
David  did  dance,  but  he  danced  to  express  his 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  31 

pious  joy  to  the  Lord.  So  Miriam  danced,  but 
it  was  an  act  of  worship,  accompanied  by  a 
hymn  of  praise.  Herod's  daughter,  who  was  a 
heathen,  danced,  and  her  dancing  caused  the 
beheading  of  one  of  God's  servants.  Do  you 
find  anything  in  these  examples  to  counte 
nance  dancing?  No,  no;  a  thousand  times, 
no.  Put  away  your  idols,  and  give  God  the 
whole  heart. 

After  the  dance  to  which  I  have  alluded,  I 
spent  several  days  and  nights  in  an  agony  of 
prayer,  asking  God  to  have  mercy  on  me ;  but 
the  veil  was  still  upon  my  heart.  Soon  after 
this,  there  was  a  large  party  given,  to  which 
oar  whole  family  were  invited.  I  did  not  care 
to  go,  but  my  mother  insisted  that  I  should, 
saying  that  it  would  do  me  good,  for  I  had 
been  moping  for  several  days.  So  I  went  to 
the  party.  There  I  laughed  and  sang,  and 
engaged  in  all  the  sports  of  the  evening,  and 
soon  my  conviction  for  sin  wore  away,  and 
foolish  amusements  took  its  place. 

Mothers,  you  know  not  what  you  do  when 
you  urge  your  daughter  to  go  to  parties  to 
make  her  more  cheerful.  You  may  even  be 
causing  the  eternal  destruction  of  that  daugh 
ter.  God  help  you,  mothers,  to  do  right. 


32  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 


CHAPTER   VII. 


I  WAS  converted  when  fifteen  years  old.  It 
was  on  a  Sunday  evening  at  a  quarterly  ir.ee  t- 
ing.  The  minister  preached  from  the  text: 
"And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  before 
the  throne,  and  before  the  four  beasts  and  the 
elders,  and  no  man  could  learn  that  song  but 
the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  which 
were  redeemed  from  the  earth."  Rev.  xiv.  3. 

As  the  minister  dwelt  with  great  force  and 
power  on  the  first  clause  of  the  text,  I  beheld 
my  lost  condition  as  I  never  had  done  before. 
Something  within  me  kept  saying,  "  Such  a 
sinner  as  you  are  can  never  sing  that  new 
song."  No  tongue  can  tell  the  agony  I  suf 
fered.  I  fell  to  the  floor,  unconscious,  and  was 
carried  home.  Several  remained  with  me  all 
night,  singing  and  praying.  I  did  not  recog 
nize  any  one,  but  seemed  to  be  walking  in  the 
dark,  followed  by  some  one  who  kept  saying, 
"Such  a  sinner  as  you  are  can  never  sing  that 
new  song."  Every  converted  man  and  woman 


FROM   THE    FIRE.  Oo 

can  imagine  what  my  feelings  were.  I  thought 
God  was  driving  me  on  to  hell.  In  great  ter 
ror  I  cried  :  "  Lord,  have  mercy  on  me,  a  poor 
sinner!"  The  voice  which  had  been  crying 
in  my  ears  ceased  at  once,  and  a  ray  of  light 
flashed  across  my  eyes,  accompanied  by  a  sound 
of  far  distant  singing;  the  light  grew  brighter 
and  brighter,  and  the  singing  more  distinct, 
and  soon  I  caught  the  words:  "This  is  the  new 
song — redeemed,  redeemed !  "  I  at  once  sprang 
from  the  bed  where  I  had  been  lying  for  twenty 
hours,  without  meat  or  drink,  and  commenced 
singing:  "Redeemed!  redeemed!  glory!  glory!" 
Such  joy  and  peace  as  filled  my  heart,  when  I 
felt  that  I  was  redeemed  and  could  sing  the 
new  song.  Thus  was  I  wonderfully  saved  from 
eternal  burning. 

I  hastened  to  take  down  the  Bible,  that  I 
might  read  of  the  new  song,  and  the  first  words 
that  caught  my  eye  were :  "But  now,  thus  saith 
the  Lord  that  created  thee,  0  Jacob,  and  he 
that  formed  thee,  O  Israel,  fear  not,  for  I  have 
redeemed  thee;  I  have  called  thee  by  thy 
name;  thou  art  mine.  When  thou  passest 
through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee,  and 
through  the  rivers  they  shall  not  overflow 
thee;  when  thou  walkest  through  the  fire, 
thou  shalt  not  be  burned,  neither  shall  the 
flame  kindle  upon  thee."  Isaiah  xliii.  1,  2. 


34  A   BRAXD   PLUCKED 

My  soul  cried,  "Glory!  glory!"  and  I  was 
billed  with  rapture  too  deep  for  words.  Was  I 
not  indeed  a  brand  plucked  from  the  burning? 
I  went  from  house  to  house,  telling  my  young 
friends  what  a  dear  Saviour  I  had  found,  and 
that  he  had  taught  me  the  new  song.  Oh ! 
how  memory  goes  back  to  those  childish  days 
of  innocence  and  joy. 

Some  of  my  friends  laughed  at  me,  and  said: 
"  We  have  seen  you  serious  before,  but  it  didn't 
last  long."  I  said:  "Yes,  I  have  been  serious 
before,  but  I  could  never  sing  the  new  song 
until  now." 

One  week  from  the  time  of  my  conversion, 
Satan  tempted  mo  dreadfully,  telling  me  I  was 
deceived;  people  didn't  get  religion  in  that 
way,  but  went  to  the  altar,  and  were  prayed 
for  by  the  minister.  This  seemed  so  very 
reasonable  that  I  began  to  doubt  if  I  had 
religion.  But,  in  the  first  hour  of  this  doubt 
ing,  God  sent  our  minister  in  to  talk  with  me. 
I  told  him  how  I  was  feeling,  and  that  I  feared 
I  was  not  converted.  He  replied:  "My  child, 
it  is  not  the  altar  nor  the  minister  that  saves 
souls,  but  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
died  for  all  men."  Taking  down  the  Bible,  he 
read:  "By  grace  are  ye  saved,  through  faith, 
and  that  not  of  yourselves;  it  is  the  gift  of 
God."  He  asked  me  then  if  I  believed  my 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  35 

sins  had  all  been  forgiven,  and  that  the 
Saviour  loved  me.  I  replied  that  I  believed  it 
with  all  my  heart.  No  tongue  can  express  the 
joy  that  came  to  me  at  that  moment.  There 
is  great  peace  in  believing.  Glory  to  the 
Lamb ! 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


I  STUDIED  the  Bible  at  every  spare  moment, 
that  I  might  be  able  to  read  it  with  a  better 
understanding.  I  used  to  read  at  night  by 
the  light  of  the  dying  fire,  after  the  rest  of  the 
family  had  gone  to  bed.  One  night  I  dropped 
the  tongs,  which  made  such  a  noise  that  my 
mother  came  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 
When  she  found  that  I  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  reading  at  night,  she  was  very  much  dis 
pleased,  and  took  the  Bible  away  from  me,  and 
would  not  allow  me  to  have  it  at  such  times 
any  more. 

Soon  after  this,  my  minister  made  me  a 
present  of  a  new  Bible  and  Testament.  Had 
he  given  me  a  thousand  dollars,  I  should  not 


36'  A    BRAND   pLUCKEb 

have  cared  for  it  as  I  did  for  this  Bible.  I 
cherished  it  tenderly,  but  did  not  read  in  it  at 
night,  for  I  dared  not  disobey  my  mother. 
•  I  now  felt  the  need  of  an  education  more, 
than  ever.  I  was  a  poor  reader  and  a  poor 
writer;  but  the  dear  Holy  Spirit  helped  ine  by- 
quickening  my  mental  faculties.  0  Lord,  I 
•will  praise  thee,-for  great  is  thy.goodness!  Oh, 
that  everything  that  hath  a  being  would  praise 
the  Lord!  From  this  time,  Satan  never  had 
power  to  make  me  doubt  my  conversion.  Bless 
God!  I  knew  in  whom  I  believed. 

Tor  six  months  I  had  uninterrupted  pea<;e 
and  joy  in  Jesus,  my  love.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  an  accident  befell  me,  which  aroused  a 
spirit  within  me  such  as  I  had  not  known  that 
I  possessed.  One  day,  as  I  was  sitting  at  work, 
my  younger  brother,  who  was  playing  with 
the  other  small  children,  accidentally  hit  me 
in  the  eye,  causing  the  most  intense  suffering. 
The  eye  was  so  impaired  that  I  lost  the  sight 
of  it.  I  was  very  angry;  and  soon  pride,  impa 
tience,  and  other  signs  of  carnality,  gave  me  a 
great  deal  of  trouble.  Satan  said:  "There! 
you  see  you  never  were  converted."  But  he 
could  not  make  me  believe  that,  though  I  did 
not  know  the  cause  of  these  repiningg  within. 
I  went  to  God  with  my  troubles,  and  felt 
relieved  fora  while;  but  they  re  turned 'again 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  37 

and  again.  Again  I  went'  to  the  Lord,  earn 
estly  striving  to  find  what  was  the  matter.  I 
knew  what,  was  right,  and  tried  to  do  right, 
but  when -I  would  do  good,  evil  was  present 
with  me.  Like  Gad,  I  was  weak  and  feeble," 
having  neither  might,  wisdom  nor  ability  to- 
overcome  my  enemies  or  maintain  my  ground' 
without  many  a  foil.  Yet,  never  being  entirely* 
defeated,  disabled  or  vanquished,  I  would  gather 
fresh  courage,  and  renew  the  fight.  Oh,  that 
I  had  then  had  some  one  to  lead  me  into  the 
light  of  full  salvation  ! 

But  instead  of  getting  light,  my  preacher, 
class-leader",  and  parents,  told'  me  that  all 
Christians  had  these  inward  troubles  to  con 
tend  with,  and  were  never  free'from  them  until 
death j  that  this  was  my  work  here,  and  I  must' 
keep  fighting  and  that,  when  I  died,  God 
would  give  me  a  bright  crown.  What  delu 
sion  !  However,  I  believed  my  minister  was 
too  good  and  too  wise  not  to  know  what  was 
right;  so  I  kept  on  struggling  and  fighting 
with  this  inbeing  monster,  hoping  all  the 
time  I  should  soon  die  and  be  at  rest — never 
for  a  moment  supposing  I  could  be  cleansed* 
from  all  sin,  and  live. 

I  had  heard  of  the  doctrine  of  Holiness,  but 
in  such  a  way  as  to  give  me  no  light,  nor  to 
beget  a  power  in  me  to  strive  after  the  expe-.' 


88  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

ricnce.  How  frivolous  and  fruitless  is  that 
preaching  which  describes  the  mere  history  of 
the  work  and  has  not  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  My  observation  has  shown  me  that 
there  are  many,  ah  !  too  many  shepherds  now, 
who  live  under  the  dreadful  woe  pronounced 
by  the  Lord  upon  the  shepherds  of  Israel 
(Ezekiel  xxxiv.). 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  more  my  besetting  sin  troubled  me,  the 
more  anxious  I  became  for  an  education.  I 
believed  that,  if  I  were  educated,  God  could 
make  me  understand  what  I  needed  ;  for,  in 
spite  of  what  others  said,  it  would  come  to  me, 
now  and  then,  that  I  needed  something  more 
than  what  I  had,  but  what  that  something 
was  I  could  not  tell. 

About  this  time  Mrs.  Phileos  and  Miss  Cran- 
clall  met  with  great  indignity  from  a  pro- 
slavery  mob  in  Canterbury,  Conn.,  because 
they  dared  to  teach  colored  children  to  read. 
If  they  went  out  to  walk,  they  were  followed 
by  a  rabble  of  men  and  boys,  who  hooted  at 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  39 

them,  and  threw  rotten  eggs  and  other  mis 
siles  at  them,  endangering  their  lives  and 
frightening  them  terribly. 

One  scholar,  with  whom  I  was  acquainted, 
wras  so  frightened  that  she  went  into  spasms, 
which  resulted  in  a  derangement  from  which 
she  never  recovered.  We  were  a  despised  and 
oppressed  people ;  we  had  no  refuge  but  God. 
He  heard  our  cries,  saw  our  tears,  and  wonder 
fully  delivered  us. 

Bless  the  Lord  that  he  is  "  a  man  of  war ! " 
"  I  am  that  I  am  "  is  his  name.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Phileos  and  their  daughter  opened  a  school  in 
Albany  for  colored  children  of  both  sexes. 
This  was  joyful  news  to  me.  I  had  saved  a 
little  money  from  my  earnings,  and  my  father 
promised  to  help  me;  so  I  started  with  hopes, 
expecting  in  a  short  time  to  be  able  to  under 
stand  the  Bible,  and  road  and  write  well. 
Again  was  I  doomed  to  disappointment:  for 
some  inexplicable  reason,  the  family  left  the 
place  in  a  few  weeks  after  beginning  the 
school.  My  poor  heart  sank  within  me.  I 
could  scarcely  speak  for  constant  weeping. 
That  was  my  last  schooling.  Being  quite  a 
37oung  woman,  I  was  obliged  to  work,  and 
study  the  Bible  as  best  I  could.  The  dear 
Holy  Spirit  helped  me  wonderfully  to  under 
stand  the  precious  Word. 


40  A    nilAXD    PLUCKED 

"Through  temptation  I  was  brought  '  into 
great  distress  of  mind;  the  enemy  of  souls 
thrust  sore  at  me ;  but  I  was  saved  from  fall 
ing  into  his  snares— saved  in  the  hour  of  trial 
from  my  impetuous  spirit,  by  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  standing  in  the  gap,  staying  me  in  my 
course. 

-'Oh,  bless  the  name  of  Jesus!  he  maketh  the  rebel  a 

priest  and  king; 
He  hath  bought  me  and  taught  me  the  new  song  to  sing." 

I  continued  to  live  in  an  up-and-down  way 
for  more  than  a  year,  when  there  came  to  our 
church  an  old  man  and  his  wife,  who,  when 
speaking  in  meeting,  told  of  the  trouble  they 
once  had  had  in  trying  to  overcome  their  tem 
per,  subdue  their  pride,  etc.  But  they  took  all 
to  Jesus,  believing  his  blood  could  wash  them 
clean  and  sanctify  them  wholly  to  himself; 
and,  oh !  the  peace,  the  sweet  peace,  they  had 
enjoyed  ever  since.  Their  words  thrilled  me 
through  and  through. 

1  at  once  understood  what  T  needed.  Though 
I  had  read  in  my  Bible  many  things  they  told 
me,  I  had  never  understood  what  I  read.  I 
needed  a  Philip  to  teach  me. 

I  told  my  parents,  my  minister,  and  ray 
leader  that  I  wanted  to  be  sanctified.  They 
told  me  sanctification  was  for  the  aged  and 
persons  about  to  die,  and  not  for  one  like  me. 


-  FROM   THE    FIKK.  41 

All  they  said  did  me  no  good.  I  had  wandered 
in  the  wilderness  a  long  time,  and  now  that  I 
could  see  a  ray  of  the  light  for  which  I  had  so 
long  sought,  I' could  not  rest  day  nor  night 
until  I  was  free. 

I  wanted  to  go  and  visit  these  old  people 
who  had  been  sanctified,  hut  my  mother  said  : 
"  No,  you  can't  go ;  you  are  half  crazy  now,  and 
these  people  don't  know  what  they  are  talking 
about."  To  have  my  mother  refuse  my  request 
so  peremptorily  made  me  very-  sorrowful  for 
many  days.  Darkness  came  upon  me,  and  my 
distress  was  greater  than  before,  for,  instead  of 
following  the  true  light,  I  was  turned  away 
from  it. 


42  '     A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

CHAPTER  X. 
i^tttc,  tint 


FINALLY,  I  did  something  I  never  had  done 
before  :  I  deliberately  disobeyed  my  mother.  I 
visited  these  old  saints,  weeping  as  though  my 
heart  would  break.  When  I  grew  calm,  I  told 
them  all  my  troubles,  and  asked  them  what  I 
must  do  to  get  rid  of  them.  They  told  me  that 
sanctification  was  for  the  young  believer,  as 
well  as  the  old.  These  words  were  a  portion 
in  due  season.  After  talking  a  long  time,  and 
they  had  prayed  with  me,  I  returned  home, 
though  not  yet  satisfied. 

I  remained  in  this  condition  more  than  a 
week,  going  many  times  to  my  secret  place  of 
prayer,  which  was  behind  the  chimney  in  the 
garret  of  our  house.  None  but  those  who  have 
passed  up  this  way  know  how  wretched  every 
moment  of  my  life  was.  I  thought  I  must  die. 
But  truly,  God  does  make  his  little  ones  min 
istering  angels  —  sending  them  forth  on  mis 
sions  of  love  and  mercy.  So  he  sent  that  dear 
old  mother  in  Israel  to  me  one  fine  morning  in 
May.  At  the  sight  of  her  my  heart  seemed  to 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  43 

melt  within  me,  so  unexpected,  and  yet  so 
much  desired  was  her  visit.  Oh,  bless  the 
Lord  for  sanctified  men  and  women ! 

There  was  no  one  at  Lome  except  the 
younger  children,  so  our  coming  together  was 
uninterrupted.  She  read  and  explained  many 
passages  of  Scripture  to  me,  such  as,  John 
xvii;  1  Thess.  iv.  3;  v.  23;  1  Cor.  vi.  9-12; 
Heb.  ii.  11 ;  and  many  others — carefully  mark 
ing  them  in  my  Bible.  All  this  had  been  as  a 
sealed  book  to  me  until  now.  Glory  to  Jesus! 
the  seals  were  broken  and  light  began  to  shine 
upon  the  blessed  Word  of  God  as  I  had  never 
seen  it  before. 

The  second  day  after  that  pilgrim's  visit, 
while  waiting  on  the  Lord,  my  large  desire 
was  granted,  through  faith  in  my  precious 
Saviour.  The  glory  of  God  seemed  almost  to 
prostrate  me  to  the  floor.  There  was,  indeed, 
a  weight  of  glory  resting  upon  me.  I  sang 
with  all  my  heart, 

"This  is  the  way  I  long  have  sought, 
And  mourned  because  I  found  it  not." 

Glory  to  the  Father!  glory  to  the  Son!  and 
glory  to  the  Holy  Ghost!  who  hath  plucked 
me  as  a  brand  from  the  burning,  and  sealed 
me  unto  eternal  life.  I  no  longer  hoped  for 
glory,  but  I  had  the  full  assurance  of  it.  Praise 


44  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

the  Lord  for  Paul-like  faith  !  "I  am  crucified 
with  Christ :  nevertheless,  I  live;  yet  not  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  This,  my  con 
stant  prayer,  was  answered,  that  I  might  be 
strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the 
inner  man ;  that  being  rooted  and  grounded  in 
love,  I  might  be  able  to  comprehend  with  all 
saints  what  is  the  length,  and  breadth,  and 
heighth,  and  depth,  and  to  know  the  love  of 
Christ  which  passeth  knowledge,  and  be  filled 
with  all  the  fullness  of  God. 

I  had  been  afraid  to  tell  my  mother  I  was 
praying  for  sanctification,  but  when  the  "  old 
man "  was  cast  out  of  my  heart,  and  perfect 
love  took  possession,  I  lost  all  fear.  I  went 
straight  to  my  mother  and  told  her  I  was 
sanctified.  She  was  astonished,  and  called 
my  father  and  told  him  what  I  had  said.  He 
was  amazed  as  well,  but  said  not  a  word.  I 
at  once  began  to  read  to  them  out  of  my  Bible, 
and  to  many  others,  thinking,  in  my  simplic 
ity,  that  they  would  believe  and  receive  the 
same  blessing  at  once.  To  the  glory  of  God, 
some  did  believe  and  were  saved,  but  many 
were  too  wise  to  be  taught  by  a  child  —  too 
good  to  be  made  better. 

From  this  time,  many,  who  had  been  my 
warmest  friends,  and  seemed  to  think  me  a 
Christian,  turned  against  me,  saying  I  did  not 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  45 

know  what  I  was  talking  about— that  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  sanctification  and  holi 
ness  in  this  life  —  and  that  the  devil  hud 
deluded  me  into  self-righteousness.  Many  of 
them  fought  holiness  with  more  zeal  and  vigor 
than  they  did  sin.  Amid  all  this,  I  had  that 
sweet  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding 
springing  up  within  my  soul  like  a  perennial 
fountain — glory  to  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus ! 

"The  King  of  heaven  and  earth 

Deigns  to  dwell  with  mortals  here." 


46  A    BEAXD    PLUCKED 


CHAPTER   XL 


THE  pastor  of  our  church  visited  me  one 
clay,  to  talk  about  my  "  new  religion,"  as  he 
called  it.  I  took  my  Bible  and  read  many  of 
my  choice  passages  to  him,  such  as  —  "Come 
and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will 
declare  what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul.1'. 
(Psa.  Ixvi.  16)  "Blessed  is  he  whose  trans 
gression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is  covered." 
(Psa.  xxxii.  1.)  While  reading  this  verse,  my 
whole  being  was  so  filled  with  the  glory  of  God 
that  I  exclaimed:  "Glory  to  Jesus!  he  has 
freed  me  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  sin  hath  no 
longer  dominion  over  me;  Christ  makes  me 
holy  as  well  as  happy." 

I  also  read  these  words  from  Ezekiel  xxxvi.  : 
"  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you, 
and  ye  shall  be  clean;  from  all  your  filthiness 
and  from  all  jour  idols  will  I  cleanse  you  ;  a 
new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit 
will  I  put  within  you,  and  I  will  take  away 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  47 

the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will 
give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  will  put  my 
Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in 
my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments, 
and  do  them." 

I  stopped  reading,  and  asked  the  preacher 
to  explain  these  last  verses  to  me.  He  replied : 
"They  are  all  well  enough;  but  you  must 
remember  that  you  are  too  young  to  read  and 
dictate  to  persons  older  than  yourself,  and 
many  in  the  church  are  dissatisfied  with  the 
way  you  are  talking  and  acting."  As  he 
answered  me,  the  Lord  spoke  to  my  heart  and 
glory  filled  my  soul.  I  said  :  "  My  dear  minis 
ter,  I  wish  they  would  all  go  to  Jesus,  in  prayer 
and  faith,  and  he  will  teach  them  as  he  has 
taught  me."  As  the  minister  left  me,  I  invol 
untarily  burst  forth  into  praises : 

"My  soul  is  full  of  glory  inspiring  ray  tongue, 
Could  I  meet  with  angels  I  would  sing  them  a  song." 

Though  my  gifts  were  but  small,  I  could  not 
be  shaken  by  what  man  might  think  or  say. 

I  continued  day  by  day,  month  after  month, 
to  walk  in  the  light  as  He  is  in  the  light, 
having  fellowship  with  the  Trinity  and  those 
aged  saints.  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleansed 
me  from  all  sin,  and  enabled  me  to  rejoice  in 
persecution. 


48  A   BE AND    PLUCKED 

Bloss  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  for  this  wonderful 
salvation,  that  snatched  me  as  a  brand  from 
the  burning,  even  me,  a  poor,  ignoran^  girl ! 

And  will  he  not  do  for  all  what  he  did  for 
me  ?  Yes,  yes;  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons, 
Jesus'  blood  will  wash  away  all  your  sin  and 
make  you  whiter  than  snow. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


SOON  after  my  conversion,  a  young  man, 
who  had  accompanied  me  to  places  of  amuse 
ment,  and  for  whom  I  had  formed  quite  an 
attachment,  professed  faith  in  Christ  and 
united  with  the  same  church  to  which  I 
belonged.  A  few  months  after,  he  made  me 
an  offer  of  marriage.  I  struggled  not  a  little 
to  banish  the  thought  from  my  mind,  chiefly 
because  he  was  not  sanctified.  But  my  feel 
ings  were  so  strongly  enlisted  that  I  felt  sure 
he  would  some  day  be  my  husband,  I  read  to 
him  and  talked  to  him  on  the  subject  of  a 
cleansed  heart.  He  assented  to  all  my  argu- 


FROM   THE    FIRE.  49 

ments,  saying  he  believed  and  would  seek 
for  it. 

The  few  weeks  that  he  remained  with  us  I 
labored  hard  with  him  for  his  deliverance, 
but  he  left  us  to  go  to  Boston,  Mass.  We  cor 
responded  regularly,  he  telling  me  of  his  relig 
ious  enjoyment,  but  that  he  did  not  hear  any 
thing  about  sanctification.  Great  was  my  anx 
iety  lest  the  devil  should  steal  away  the  good 
seed  out  of  his  heart.  The  Lord,  and  he  only, 
knows  how  many  times  I  besought  him  to  let 
the  clear  light  of  holiness  shine  into  that 
man's  heart.  Through  all  this  my  mind  was 
stayed  upon  God ;  I  rested  in  the  will  of  the 
Lord. 

One  night,  about  a  month  after  his  depart 
ure,  I  could  not  sleep,  the  tempter  being  unu 
sually  busy  with  me.  Rising,  I  prostrated 
myself  before  the  Lord.  While  thus  upon  my 
face,  these  words  of  God  came  to  me :  "  For  we 
have  not  an  high  priest  which  cannot  be 
touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities; 
but  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are, 
yet  without  sin."  (Heb.  iv.  15.)  I  at  once 
rose  up,  thanking  God  for  his  precious  words  : 
I  took  my  Bible  and  read  them  over  and  over 
again ;  also  the  eighteenth  verse  of  the  second 
chapter  of  Hebrews.  I  was  not  conscious  of 
having;  committed  sin,  and  I  cried  out :  "  Leave 

w 


50  A   BKAND   PLUCKED 

me,  Satan ;  I  am  the  Lord's."  At  that  the 
tempter  left,  and  I  surrendered  myself  and  all 
my  interests  into  the  hands  of  God.  Glory  to 
his  holy  name !  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father 
that  in  him  should  all  fullness  dwell,"  and  of 
his  fullness  have  I  received,  and  grace  for 
grace. 

"Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow, 
Praise  him  all  creatures  here  below." 

The  day  following  this  night  of  temptation 
was  one  of  great  peace  —  peace  flowing  as  a 
river,  even  to  overflowing  its  banks,  and  such 
glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  as  to  almost  deprive 
me  of  bodily  powers.  I  forgot  all  toil  and  care. 

This  was  just  a  year  after  my  heart  was 
emptied  of  sin.  Through  faith  I  received  the 
Saviour,  and  in  the  same  have  continued  ever 
since  and  proved  him  able  to  keep  from  sin. 
Bless  God!  all  my  desires  are  satisfied  in  him. 
He  is  indeed  my  reconciled  God,  the  Christ 
Jesus  whose  precious  blood  is  all  my  righteous 
ness. 

"Nought  of  good  that  I  have  done, 
Nothing  but  the  blood  of  Jesus." 

Glory  to  the  blood  that  hath  bought  me! 
glory  to  the  blood  that  hath  cleansed  me ! 
glory  to  the  blood  that  keeps  me  clean ! — me,  a 
brand  plucked  from  the  fire. 


.FROM    THE   FIRE.  51 

George  returned  in  about  a  jear  to  claim  me 
as  his  bride.  He  still  gave  evidence  of  being  a 
Christian,  but  had  not  been  cleansed  from  the 
carnal  mind.  I  still  continued  to  pray  for  his 
sanctification,  and  desired  that  it  should  take 
place  before  our  union,  but  I  was  so  much 
attached  to  him  that  I  could  not  resist  his 
pleadings;  so,  at  the  appointed  time,  we  were 
married,  in  the  church,  in  the  presence  of  a 
large  number  of  people,  many  of  whom  fol 
lowed  us  to  my  father's  house  to  offer  their 
congratulations. 

We  staid  at  home  bu.t  one  day  after  the  cere 
mony.  This  day  I  spent  in  preparing  for  our 
departure  and  in  taking  leave  of  my  friends. 
Tenderly  as  I  loved  my  parents,  much  as  I 
loved  the  church,  yet  I  found  myself  quite  wil 
ling  to  leave  them  all  in  the  divine  appoint 
ment. 

The  day  following,  accompanied  by  several 
friends,  we  started  for  Boston,  in  an  old- 
fashioned  stage-coach,  there  being  no  railroads 
at  that  time.  As  I  rode  along  I  admired  the 
goodness  of  God,  and  my  heart  overflowed  with 
gratitude  to  him,  who  had  blessed  me  with 
power  to  choose  his  will  and  make  me  able  to 
say  with  truth,  "  I  gladly  forsake  all  to  follow 
thee." 

Once,  the   thought  of  leaving  my  fathers 


52  A    BRAND   PLUCKED 

house,  to  go  among  strangers,  would  have  been 
terrible,  but  now  I  rejoiced  in  being  so  favored 
as  to  be  called  to  make  this  little  sacrifice,  and 
evince  my  love  to  him  who  saith :  "He  that 
loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me  is  not 
worthy  of  me." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


ON  our  arrival  in  Boston,  after  a  long,  weari 
some  journey,  we  went  at  once  to  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Burrows,  where  my  husband  had  made 
arrangements  for  me  to  board  while  he  was 
away  at  work  during  the  week.  He  worked  in 
Chelsea,  and  could  not  come  to  look  after  my 
welfare  but  once  a  week.  The  boarders  in  this 
house  were  mostly  gentlemen,  nearly  all  of 
whom  were  out  of  Christ.  Mrs.  Burrows  was  a 
church-member,  but  knew  nothing  of  the  full 
joys  of  salvation. 

I  went  to  church  the  first  Sabbath  I  was 
there,  remained  at  class-meeting,  gave  my  let- 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  53 

ter  of  membership  to  the  minister,  and  was 
received  into  the  church.  In  giving  my  first 
testimony,  I  told  of  my  thorough  and  happy 
conversion,  and  of  my  sanctification  as  a  sec 
ond,  distinct  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

After  class-meeting,  a  good  many  came  to 
me,  asking  questions  about  sanctification ; 
others  stood  off  in  groups,  talking,  while  a  few 
followed  me  to  my  boarding-house.  They  all 
seemed  very  much  excited  over  what  I  had 
told  them.  I  began  to  see  that  it  was  not  the 
voice  of  man  that  had  bidden  me  go  out  from 
the  land  of  my  nativity  and  from  my  kindred, 
but  the  voice  of  my  dear  Lord.  I  was  com 
pletely  prepared  for  all  that  followed,  knowing 
that  "All  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God."  Change  of  people,  places 
and  circumstances,  weighed  nothing  with  me, 
for  I  had  a  safe  abiding  place  with  my  Father. 
Some  people  had  been  to  me  in  such  an 
unchristianlike  spirit  that  I  had  spoken  to 
and  about  them  in  rather  an  incautious  man 
ner.  I  now  more  and  more  saw  the  great  need 
of  ordering  all  my  words  as  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  God,  that  I  might  be  able  to  main 
tain  that  purity  of  lips  and  life  which  the 
Gospel  required.  God  is  holy,  and  if  I  would 
enjoy  constant  communion  with  him  I  must 
guard  every  avenue  of  my  soul,  and  watch 


54  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

every  thought  of  my  heart  and  word  of  my 
tongue,  that  I  may  be  blameless  before  him  in 
love.  The  Lord  help  me  evermore  to  be  upon 
my  guard,  and  having  done  all,  to  stand. 
Amen  and  amen. 

In  a  few  months  my  husband  rented  a  house 
just  across  the  road  from  my  boarding-house, 
and  I  went  to  housekeeping.  "Mam"  Riley, 
a  most  excellent  Christian,  became  as  a  mother 
to  me  in  this  strange  land,  far  from  my  own 
dear  mother.  Bless  the  Lord!  He  supplied 
all  my  needs.  "Mam"  Riley  had  two  grown 
daughters,  one  about  my  own  age,  married, 
who  had  two  children.  They  were  dear  Chris 
tian  women,  and  like  sisters  to  me.  The 
mother  thought  she  once  enjoyed  the  blessing 
of  heart  purity,  but  the  girls  had  not  heard  of 
such  a  thing  as  being  sanctified  and  permitted 
to  live.*  The  elder  girl,  who  was  a  consump 
tive  and  in  delicate  health,  soon  became  deeply 
interested  in  the  subject.  She  began  to  hun 
ger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  and  did  not 
rest  until  she  was  washed  and  made  clean  in 
the  blood  of  Jesus.  Her  clear,  definite  testi 
mony  had  a  great  effect  upon  the  church,  as 
her  family  was  one  of  the  first  in  point  of 
wealth  and  standing  in  the  community. 

God  wonderfully  honored  the  faith  of  this 
young  saint  in  her  ceaseless  labor  for  others. 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  55 

We  attended  meetings  and  visited  from  house 
to  house,  together,  almost  constantly,  when  she 
was  able  to  go  out.  Glory  to  God  !  the  church 
became  much  aroused;  some  plunged  into  the 
ocean  of  perfect  love,  and  came  forth  testifying 
to  the  power  of  the  blood.  Others  disbelieved 
and  ridiculed  this  "foolish  doctrine,"  as  they 
called  it,  saying  it  was  just  as  impossible  to 
live  without  committing  sin  as  it  was  to  live 
without  eating,  and  brought  disjointed  passa 
ges  of  Scripture  to  bear  them  out. 


A    BRAND    PLUCKED 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


AFTER  I  went  to  Boston  I  was  much  drawn 
out  in  prayer  for  the  sanctification  of  believers. 
Notwithstanding  the  enemy  labored  by  various 
means  to  hinder  the  work  of  grace,  yet  the 
Lord  wrought  a  wonderful  change  in  many. 

The  mother  of  my  friend  received  a  fresh 
baptism,  and  came  back  into  the  light,  prais 
ing  the  Lord.  That  the  Holy  Spirit  might 
keep  -my  dear  "  Mam"  Riley  pure  until  death, 
was  my  prayer. 

The  health  of  my  dear  friend,  Mrs.  Simpson, 
began  rapidly  to  fail.  One  morning,  in  reply 
to  my  question  as  to  her  health,  she  said: 
"Dear  sister,  I  have  been  in  great  pain  through 
the  night,  but  you  know  Jesus  said,  *  I  will 
never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee.'  Praise  God, 
who  has  been  with  me  in  great  mercy  through 
the  darkness  of  the  night."  I  remained  with 
her  the  following  night,  and  such  calmness, 
patience  and  resignation  through  suffering,  I 
never  had  witnessed.  Toward  morning  she 
was  more  easy,  and  asked  for  her  husband. 


FROM    THE   FIRE.  57 

When  he  came,  she  embraced  him,  repeated 
passages  of  Scripture  to  him,  and  exhorted 
him,  as  she  had  many  times  before,  to  receive 
God  in  all  his  fullness. 

There,  in  that  death-chamber,  in  the  still 
ness  of  night,  we  prayed  for  that  pious  and 
exemplary  man,  that  he  might  present  his 
body  a  living  sacrifice.  He  was  deeply  moved 
upon  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  he  cried  aloud 
for  deliverance;  but  almost  on  the  instant 
began  to  doubt,  and  left  the  room.  His  wife 
requested  me  to  read  and  talk  to  her  about 
Jesus,  which  I  did,  and  she  was  filled  with 
heavenly  joy  and  shouted  aloud:  "Oh,  the 
blood,  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus  cleanses  me 
now ! " 

Her  mother,  who  was  sleeping  in  an  adjoin 
ing  room,  was  awakened  by  the  noise  and  came 
in,  saying,  as  she  did  so:  "This  room  is  filled 
with  the  glory  of  God.  Hallelujah  1  Amen." 

As  the  morning  dawned,  Mrs.  Simpson  sank 
into  a  quiet  slumber,  which  lasted  several 
hours.  She  awoke  singing : 

"How  happy  are  they  who  their  Saviour  obey, 
And  have  laid  up  their  treasure  above." 

She  was  comparatively  free  from  pain  for 
several  days,  though  very  weak.  .  She  talked 
to  all  who  came  to  see  her  of  salvation  free  and 


58  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

full.  Her  last  morning  on  earth  came.  She 
was  peaceful  and  serene,  with  a  heavenly  smile 
upon  her  countenance.  She  asked  me  to  pray, 
which  I  did  with  streaming  eyes  and  quiver 
ing  voice.  She  then  asked  us  to  sing  the 
hymn, 

"Oh,  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 
My  great  Redeemer's  praise." 

She  sang  with  us  in  a  much  stronger  voice 
than  she  had  used  for  many  days.  As  we  sang 
the  last  verse,  she  raised  herself  up  in  bed, 
clapped  her  hands  and  cried:  "He  sets  the 
prisoner  free !  Glory !  glory !  I  am  free !  They 
have  come  for  me  ! "  She  pointed  toward  the 
east.  Her  mother  asked  her  who  had  come. 

She  said :  "  Don't  you  see  the  chariot  and 
horses  ?  Glory !  glory  to  the  blood ! " 

She.  dropped  back  upon  her  pillow,  and  was 
gone.  She  had  stepped  aboard  the  chariot, 
which  we  could  not  see,  but  we  felt  the  fire. 

While  many  in  the  room  were  weeping,  her 
mother  shed  not  a  tear,  but  shouted,  "Glory  to 
God ! "  Then,  with  her  own  hands,  she  assisted 
in  arranging  and  preparing  the  remains  for 
burial.  Thus  did  another  sanctified  saint 
enter  into  eternal  life.  Though  her  period  of 
sanctification  was  short,  it  was  full  of  precious 
fruit. 


FROM   THE    FIRE.  59 


CHAPTER  XV 
and 


MY  husband  had  always  treated  the  subject 
of  heart  purity  with  favor,  but  now  he  began 
to  speak  against  it.  He  said  I  was  getting 
more  crazy  every  day,  and  getting  others  in 
the  same  way,  and  that  if  I  did  not  stop  he 
would  send  me  back  home  or  to  the  crazy- 
house.  I  questioned  him  closely  respecting 
the  state  of  his  mind,  feeling  that  he  had  been 
prejudiced.  I  did  not  attempt  to  contend  with 
him  on  the  danger  and  fallacy  of  his  notions, 
but  simply  asked  what  his  state  of  grace  was, 
if  God  should  require  his  soul  of  him  then. 
He  gave  me  no  answer  until  I  insisted  upon 
one.  Then  he  said:  "Julia,  I  don't  think  I 
can  ever  believe  myself  as  holy  as  you  think 
you  are." 

I  then  urged  him  to  believe  in  Christ's  holi 
ness,  if  he  had  no  faith  in  the  power  of  the 
blood  of  Christ  to  cleanse  from  all  sin.  He 


60  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

that  hath  this  hope  :  rifles  himself  as  God  is 
pure.  We  knelt  in  prayer  together,  my  hus 
band  leading,  and  he  seemed  much  affected 
while  praying.  To  me  it  was  a  precious  sea 
son,  though  there  was  an  indescribable  some 
thing  between  us — something  dark  and  high. 
As  I  looked  at  it,  these  words  of -the  poet  came 
to  me  : 

"God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

From  that  time  I  never  beheld  my  hus 
band's  face  clear  and  distinct,  as  before,  the 
dark  shadow  being  ever  present.  This  caused 
me  not  a  little  anxiety  and  many  prayers. 
Soon  after,  he  accepted  an  offer  to  go  to  sea  for 
six  months,  leaving  me  to  draw  half  of  his 
wages.  To  this  arrangement  I  reluctantly 
consented,  fully  realizing  how  lonely  I  should 
be  among  strangers.  Had  it  not  been  for  dear 
"  Mam"  Riley,  I  could  hardly  have  endured  it. 
Her  precept  and  example  taught  me  to  lean 
more  heavily  on  Christ  for  support.  God  gave 
me  these  precious  words  :  "  Be  careful  for  noth 
ing,  but  in  everything,  by  prayer  and  suppli 
cation,  with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be 
made  known  unto  God."  Truly,  God  is  the 
great  Arbiter  of  all  events,  and  "  because  he 
lives,  I  shall  live  also." 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  61 

The  day  my  husband  went  on  ship-board 
was  one  of  close  trial  and  great  inward  tempta 
tion.  It  was  difficult  for  me  to  mark  the 
exact  line  between  disapprobation  and  Chris 
tian  forbearance  and  patient  love.  How  I 
longed  for  wisdom  to  meet  everything  in  a 
spirit  of  meekness  and  fear,  that  I  might  not 
be  surprised  into  evil  or  hindered  from  improv 
ing  all  things  to  the  glory  of  God. 

While  under  this  apparent  cloud,  I  took  the 
Bible  to  my  closet,  asking  Divine  aid.  As  I 
opened  the  book,  my  eyes  fell  on  these  words : 
"  For  thy  Maker  is  thine  husband."  I  then 
read  the  fifty-fourth  chapter  of  Isaiah  over  and 
over  again.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  never 
seen  it  before.  I  went  forth  glorifying  God. 


62  A    BRAND   PLUCKED 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


HAVING  no  children,  I  had  a  good  deal  of 
leisure  after  my  husband's  departure,  so  I  vis 
ited  many  of  the  poor  and  forsaken  ones,  read 
ing  and  talking  to  them  of  Jesus,  the  Saviour. 
One  day  I  was  directed  by  the  Spirit  to  visit 
the  Marine  Hospital.  In  passing  through  one 
of  the  wards  I  heard  myself  called  by  my 
maiden  name.  Going  to  the  cot  from  whence 
the  voice  came,  I  beheld  what  seemed  to  me  a 
human  skeleton.  As  I  looked  I  began  to  see 
our  family  likeness,  and  recognized  my  eldest 
brother,  who  left  home  many  years  before, 
when  I  was  quite  young.  Not  hearing  from 
him,  we  had  mourned  him  as  dead.  With  a 
feeble  voice,  he  told  me  of  his  roving  and  sea 
faring  life;  "and  now,  sister,"  he  said,  UI  am 
dying." 

I  asked  him  if  he  was  willing  to  die  —  if  he 
was  ready  to  stand  before  God.  "  No,  oh,  no  !  '' 
he  said.  I  entreated  him  to  pray.  He  shook 


FROM    JL.I^   FIRE.  63 

his  head,  saying,  "I  can't  pray;  my  heart  is 
too  hard,  and  my  mind  dark  and  bewildered," 
and  then  cried  out,  in  the  agony  of  his  soul, 
"Oh,  that  dreadful,  burning  hell!  how  can  I 
escape  it?" 

I  urged  him  to  pray,  and  to  believe  that 
Jesus  died  for  all.  I  prayed  for  him,  and  staid 
with  him  as  much  as  possible.  One  morning, 
when  I  went  to  see  him,  I  was  shown  his  life 
less  remains  in  the  dead-house.  This  was, 
indeed,  a  solemn  time  for  me. 

I  had  very  little  hope  in  my  brother's  death. 
But  there  is  an  High  Priest  who  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  all,  and  I  trust  that  he 
prevailed.  The  Lord  is  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth,  and  all  souls  are  in  his  hands,  and  he 
will  in  no  wise  clear  the  guilty,  though  merci 
ful  and  wise.  Willful  unbelief  is  a  crying  sin, 
and  will  not  be  passed  by  without  punish 
ment.  God  judges  righteously,  and  is  the 
avenger  of  all  sin.  Justice  is  meted  out  to 
all,  either  here  or  in  eternity.  Praise  the 
Lord!  My  whole  soul  joins  in  saying,  Praise 
the  Lord! 

God,  in  great  mercy,  returned  my  husband 
to  me  in  safety,  for  which  I  bowed  in  great 
thankfulness.  George  told  me  that  the  ship 
was  a  poor  place  to  serve  the  Lord,  and  that 
the  most  he  heard  was  oaths.  He  said  that 


64  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

sometimes  he  would  slip  away  and  pray,  and 
that,  upon  one  occasion,  the  captain  came  upon 
him  unawares,  and  called  him  "a  fool,"  and 
told  him  to  get  up  and  go  to  work.  Notwith 
standing  all  this,  my  husband  shipped  for  a 
second  voyage.  Praise  the  Lord!  he  saved  me 
from  a  painful  feeling  at  parting.  With  joy 
could  I  say,  "  Thou  everywhere-present  God ! 
thy  will  be  done." 

During  the  year  I  had  been  from  home,  let 
ters  from  my  parents  and  friends  had  come  to 
me  quite  often,  filling  me  with  gladness  and 
thanksgiving  for  the  many  blessings  and 
cheering  words  they  contained.  But  now  a 
letter  came  bringing  the  intelligence  that  my 
family  were  about  to  move  to  Silver  Lake, 
which  was  much  farther  from  me.  I  trem 
blingly  went  to  my  heavenly  Father,  who 
gave  me  grace  and  strength  at  once. 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  65 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


FOR  months  I  had  been  moved  upon  to 
exhort  and  pray  with  the  people,  in  my  visits 
from  house  to  house  ;  and  in  meetings  my 
whole  soul  seemed  drawn  out  for  the  salvation 
of  souls.  The  love  of  Christ  in  me  was  not 
limited.  Some  of  my  mistaken  friends  said  I 
was  too  forward,  but  a  desire  to  work  for  the 
Master,  and  to  promote  the  glory  of  his  king 
dom  in  the  salvation  of  souls,  was  food  to  my 
poor  soul. 

When  called  of  God,  on  a  particular  occa 
sion,  to  a  definite  work,  I  said,  "  No,  Lord,  not 
me."  Day  by  day  I  was  more  impressed  that 
God  would  have  me  work  in  his  vineyard.  I 
thought  it  could  not  be  that  I  was  called  to 
preach  —  I,  so  weak  and  ignorant.  Still,  I 
knew  all  things  were  possible  with  God,  even 
to  confounding  the  wise  by  the  foolish  things 
of  this  earth.  Yet  in  me  there  was  a  shrink 
ing. 

[5] 


66  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

I  took  all  my  doubts  and  fears  to  the  Lord  in 
prayer,  when,  what  seemed  to  be  an  angel, 
made  his  appearance.  In  his  hand  was  a 
scroll,  on  which  were  these  words:  "Thee 
have  I  chosen  to  preach  my  Gospel  without 
delay."  The  moment  my  eyes  saw  it,  it 
appeared  to  be  printed  on  my  heart.  The 
angel  was  gone  in  an  instant,  and  I,  in  agony, 
cried  out,  "Lord,  I  cannot  do  it!"  It  was 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  yet  everything 
grew  dark  as  night.  The  darkness  was  so 
great  that  I  feared  to  stir. 

At  last  "Mam"  Riley  entered.  As  she  did 
so,  the  room  grew  lighter,  and  I  arose  from  my 
knees.  My  heart  was  so  heavy  I  scarce  could 
speak.  Dear  "  Mam  "  Riley  saw  my  distress, 
and  soon  left  me. 

From  that  day.  my  appetite  failed  me  and 
sleep  fled  from  my  eyes.  I  seemed  as  one 
tormented.  I  prayed,  but  felt  no  better.  I 
belonged  to  a  band  of  sisters  whom  I  loved 
dearly,  and  to  them  I  partially  opened  my 
mind.  One  of  them  seemed  to  understand  my 
case  at  once,  and  advised  me  to  do  as  God  had 
bid  me,  or  I  would  never  be  happy  here  or  here 
after.  But  it  seemed  too  hard  —  I  could  not 
give  up  and  obey. 

One  night,  as  I  lay  weeping  and  beseeching 
the  dear  Lord  to  remove  this  burden  from  me, 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  67 

there  appeared  the  same  angel  that  came  to 
me  before,  and  on  his  breast  were  these  words  : 
"  You  are  lost  unless  you  obey  God's  righteous 
commands."  I  saw  the  writing,  and  that  was 
enough.  I  covered  my  head  and  awoke  my 
husband,  who  had  returned  a  few  days  before. 
He  asked  me  why  I  trembled  so,  but  I  had  not 
power  to  answer  him.  I  remained  in  that 
condition  until  morning,  when  I  tried  to  arise 
and  go  about  my  usual  duties,  but  was  too  ill. 
Then  my  husband  called  a  physician,  who  pre 
scribed  medicine,  but  it  did  me  no  good. 

I  had  always  been  opposed  to  the  preaching 
of  women,  and  had  spoken  against  it,  though, 
I  acknowledge,  without  foundation.  This  rose 
before  me  like  a  mountain,  and  when  I  thought 
of  the  difficulties  they  had  to  encounter,  both 
from  professors  and  non-professors,  I  shrank 
back  and  cried,  "  Lord,  I  cannot  go ! " 

The  trouble  my  heavenly  Father  has  had  to 
keep  me  out  of  the  fire  that  is  never  quenched, 
he  alone  knoweth.  My  husband  and  friends 
said  I  would  die  or  go  crazy  if  something 
favorable  did  not  take  place  soon.  I  expected 
to  die  and  be  lost,  knowing  I  had  been  enlight 
ened  and  had  tasted  the  heavenly  gift.  I  read 
again  and  again  the  sixth  chapter  of  Hebrews. 


68  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


NEARLY  two  months  from  the  time  I  first 
saw  the  angel,  I  said  that  I  would  do  anything 
or  go  anywhere  for  God,  if  it  were  made  plain 
to  me.  He  took  me  at  my  word,  and  sent  the 
angel  again  with  this  message:  "You  have  I 
chosen  to  go  in  my  name  and  warn  the  people 
of  their  sins."  I  bowed  my  head  and  said,  "  I 
will  go,  Lord." 

That  moment  I  felt  a  joy  and  peace  I  had 
not  known  for  months.  But  strange  as  it  may 
appear,  it  is  not  the  less  true,  that,  ere  one 
hour  had  passed,  I  began  to  reason  thus  :"I  am 
elected  to  preach  the  Gospel  without  the  requi 
site  qualifications,  and,  besides,  my  parents 
and  friends  will  forsake  me  and  turn  against 
me  ;  and  I  regret  that  I  made  a  promise."  At 
that  instant  all  the  joy  and  peace  I  had  felt 
left  me,  and  I  thought  I  was  standing  on  the 
brink  of  holl,  and  heard  the  devil  say:  "Let 
her  go  !  let  her  go  !  I  will  catch  her."  Reader, 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  69 

can  you  imagine  how  I  felt  ?  If  you  were  ever 
snatched  from  the  mouth  of  hell,  you  can,  in 
part,  realize  my  feelings. 

I  continued  in  this  state  for  some  time, 
when,  on  a  Sabbath  evening — ah !  that  memo 
rable  Sabbath  evening — while  engaged  in  fer 
vent  prayer,  the  same  supernatural  presence 
came  to  me  once  more  and  took  me  by  the 
hand.  At  that  moment  I  became  lost  to 
everything  of  this  world.  The  angel  led  me 
to  a  place  where-  there  was  a  large  tree,  the 
branches  of  which  seemed  to  extend  either 
way  beyond  sight.  Beneath  it  sat,  as  I  thought, 
God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
besides  many  others,  whom  I  thought  were 
angels.  I  was  led  before  them :  they  looked 
me  over  from  head  to  foot,  but  said  nothing. 
Finally,  the  Father  said  to  me  :  "  Before  these 
people  make  your  choice,  whether  you  will 
obey  me  or  go  from  this  place  to  eternal  misery 
and  pain."  I  answered  not  a  word.  He  then 
took  me  by  the  hand  to  lead  me,  as  I  thought, 
to  hell,  when  I  cried  out,  UI  will  obey  thee, 
Lord!"  He  then  pointed  my  hand  in  differ 
ent  directions,  and  asked  if  I  would  go  there. 
I  replied,  "Yes,  Lord."  He  then  led  me,  all 
the  others  following,  till  we  came  to  a  place 
where  there  was  a  great  quantity  of  water, 
which  looked  like  silver,  where  we  made  a 


70  A   BRAND    PLUCKED 

halt.  My  hand  was  given  to  Christ,  who  led 
me  into  the  water  and  stripped  me  of  my 
clothing,  which  at  once  vanished  from  sight. 
Christ  then  appeared  to  wash  me,  the  water 
feeling  quite  warm. 

During  this  operation,  all  the  others  stood 
on  the  bank,  looking  on  in  profound  silence. 
When  the  washing  was  ended,  the  sweetest 
music  I  had  ever  heard  greeted  my  ears.  We 
walked  to  the  shore,  where  an  angel  stood  with 
a  clean,  white  robe,  which  the  Father  at  once 
put  on  me.  In  an  instant  I  appeared  to  be 
changed  into  an  angel.  The  whole  company 
looked  at  me  with  delight,  and  began  to  make 
a  noise  which  I  called  shouting.  We  all 
marched  back  with  music.  When  we  reached 
the  tree  to  which  the  angel  first  led  me,  it 
hung  full  of  fruit,  which  I  had  not  seen  before. 
The  Holy  Ghost  plucked  some  and  gave  me, 
and  the  rest  helped  themselves.  We  sat  down 
and  ate  of  the  fruit,  which  had  a  taste  like 
nothing  I  had  ever  tasted  before.  When  we 
had  finished,  we  all  arose  and  gave  another 
shout.  Then  God  the  Father  said  to  me : 
"  You  are  now  prepared,  and  must  go  where  I 
have  commanded  you."  I  replied,  "If  I  go,  they 
will  not  believe  me."  Christ  then  appeared 
to  write  something  with  a  golden  pen  and 
golden  ink,  upon  golden  paper.  Then  he 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  71 

rolled  it  up,  and  said  to  me  :  "  Put  this  in  your 
bosom,  and,  wherever  you  go,  show  it,  and 
they  will  know  that  I  have  sent  you  to  pro 
claim  salvation  to  alL"  He  then  put  it  into 
my  bosom,  arid  they  all  went  with  me  to  a 
bright,  shining  gate,  singing  and  shouting. 
Here  they  embraced  me,  and  I  found  myself 
once  more  on  earth. 

When  I  came  to  myself,  I  found  that  several 
friends  had  been  with  me  all  night,  and  my 
husband  had  called  a  physician,  but  he  had 
not  been  able  to  do  anything  for  me.  He 
ordered  those  around  me  to  keep  very  quiet, 
or  to  go  home.  He  returned  in  the  morning, 
when  I  told  him,  in  part,  my  story.  He  seemed 
amazed,  but  made  no  answer,  and  left  me. 

Several  friends  were  in,  during  the  day. 
While  talking  to  them,  I  would,  without 
thinking,  put  my  hand  into  my  bosom,  to 
show  them  my  letter  of  authority.  But  I  soon 
found,  as  my  friends  told  me,  it  was  in  my 
heart,  and  was  to  be  shown  in  my  life,  instead 
of  in  my  hand.  Among  others,  my  minister, 
Jehial  C.  Beman,  came  to  see  me.  He  looked 
very  coldly  upon  me  and  said:  "I  guess  you 
will  find  out  your  mistake  before  you  are  many 
months  older."  He  was  a  scholar,  and  a  nne 
speaker;  and  the  sneering,  indifferent  way  in 
which  he  addressed  me,  said  most  plainly: 


72  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

"You  don't  know  anything."  I  replied:  "My 
gifts  are  very  small,  I  know,  but  I  can  no 
longer  be  shaken  by  what  you  or  any  one  else 
may  think  or  say." 


CHAPTER   XIX. 
public  ||fllot|f — 

FROM  this  time  the  opposition  to  my  life- 
work  commenced,  instigated  by  the  minister, 
Mr.  Beman.  Many  in  the  church  were  anx 
ious  to  have  me  preach  in  the  hall,  where  our 
meetings  were  held  at  that  time,  and  were  not 
a  little  astonished  at  the  minister's  cool  treat 
ment  of  me.  At  length  two  of  the  trustees  got 
some  of  the  elder  sisters  to  call  on  the  minister 
and  ask  him  to  let  me  preach.  His  answer 
was:  "No;  she  can't  preach  her  holiness  stuff 
here,  and  I  am  astonished  that  you  should  ask 
it  of  me."  The  sisters  said  he  seemed  to  be  in 
quite  a  rage,  although  he  said  he  was  not 
angry. 

There  being  no  meeting  of  the  society  on 
Monday  evening,  a  brother  in  the  church 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  73 

opened  his  house  to  me,  that  I  might  preach, 
which  displeased  Mr.  Beman  very  much.  He 
appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  the 
hrother  and  sister  who  had  opened  their  doors 
to  me,  to  tell  them  they  must  not  allow  any 
more  meetings  of  that  kind,  and  that  they 
must  abide  by  the  rules  of  the  church,  making 
them  believe  they  would  be  excommunicated 
if  they  disobeyed  him.  I  happened  to  be 
present  at  this  interview,  and  the  committee 
remonstrated  with  me  for  the  course  I  had 
taken.  I  told  them  my  business  was  with  the 
Lord,  and  wherever  I  found  a  door  opened  I 
intended  to  go  in  and  work  for  my  Master. 

There  was  another  meeting  appointed  at  the 
same  place,  which  I,  of  course,  attended;  after 
which  the  meetings  were  stopped  for  that 
time,  though  Pheld  many  more  there  after 
these  people  had  withdrawn  from  Mr.  Beman's 
church. 

I  then  held  meetings  in  my  own  house; 
whereat  the  minister  told  the  members  that 
if  they  attended  them  he  would  deal  with 
them,  for  they  were  breaking  the  rules  of  the 
church.  When  he  found  that  I  continued  the 
meetings,  and  that  the  Lord  was  blessing  my 
feeble  efforts,  he  sent  a  committee  of  two  to  ask 
me  if  I  considered  myself  a  member  of  his 
church.  1  told  them  I  did,  and  should  con- 


74  A    BRAND   PLUCKED 

tinue  to  do  so  until  I  had  done  something 
worthy  of  dismembership. 

At  this,  Mr.  Beman  sent  another  committee 
with  a  note,  asking  me  to  meet  him  with  the 
committee,  which  I  did.  He  asked  me  a  num 
ber  of  questions,  nearly  all  of  which  I  have 
forgotten.  One,  however,  I  do  remember:  he 
asked  if  I  was  willing  to  -comply  with  the 
rules  of  the  discipline.  To  this  I  answered: 
"  Not  if  the  discipline  prohibits  me  from  doing 
what  God  has  bidden  me  to  do;  I  fear  God 
more  than  man."  Similar  questions  were 
asked  and  answered  in  the  same  manner. 
The  committee  said  what  they  wished  to  say, 
and  then  told  me  I  could  go  home.  When  I 
reached  the  door,  I  turned  and  said :  "  I  now 
shake  off  the  dust  of  my  feet  as  a  witness 
against  you.  See  to  it  that  this  meeting  does 
not  rise  in  judgment  against  you." 

The  next  evening,  one  of  the  committee 
came  to  me  and  told  me  that  I  was  no  longer  a 
member  of  the  church,  because  I  had  violated 
the  rules  of  the  discipline  by  preaching. 

When  this  action  became  known,  the  people 
wondered  how  any  one  could  be  excommuni 
cated  for  trying  to  do  good.  I  did  not  say 
much,  and  my  friends  simply  said  I  had  done 
nothing  but  hold  meetings.  Others,  anxious 
to  know  the  particulars,  asked  the  minister 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  75 

what  the  trouble  was.  He  told  them  he  had 
given  me  the  privilege  of  speaking  or  preach 
ing  as  long  as  I  chose,  but  that  he  could  not 
give  me  the  right  to  use  the  pulpit,  and  that  I 
was  not  satisfied  with  any  other  place.  Also, 
that  I  had  appointed  meeting  on  the  evening 
of  his  meetings,  which  was  a  thing  no  member 
had  a  right  to  do.  For  these  reasons  he  said 
he  had  turned  me  out  of  the  church. 

Now,  if  the  people  who  repeated  this  to  me 
told  the  truth — and  I  have  no  doubt  but  they 
did — Mr.  Beman  told  an  actual  falsehood.  I 
had  never  asked  for  his  pulpit,  but  had  told 
him  and  others,  repeatedly,  that  I  did  not  care 
where  I  stood — any  corner  of  the  hall  would 
do.  To  which  Mr.  Beman  had  answered: 
"  You  cannot  have  any  place  in  the  hall." 
Then  I  said :  "  I'll  preach  in  a  private  house." 
He  answered  me :  "  No,  not  in  this  place ;  I 
am  stationed  over  all  Boston."  He  was  deter 
mined  I  should  not  preach  in  the  city  of  Bos 
ton.  To  cover  up  his  deceptive,  unrighteous 
course  toward  me,  he  told  the  above  false 
hoods. 

From  his  statements,  many  erroneous  stories 
concerning  me  gained  credence  with  a  large 
number  of  people.  At  that  time,  I  thought  it 
my  duty  as  well  as  privilege  to  address  a  letter 
to  the  Conference,  which  I  took  to  them  in 


7  ft  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

person,  stating  all  the  facts.  At  the  same 
time  I  told  them  it  was  not  in  the  power  of 
Mr.  Beman,  or  any  one  else,  to  truthfully  bring 
anything  against  my  moral  or  religious  char 
acter — that  my  only  offence  was  in  trying  to 
preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ — and  that  I  cher 
ished  no  ill  feelings  toward  Mr.  Beman  or  any 
one  else,  but  that  I  desired  the  Conference  to 
give  the  case  an  impartial  hearing,  and  then 
give  me  a  written  statement  expressive  of 
their  opinion.  I  also  said  I  considered  myself 
a  member  of  the  Conference,  and  should  do  so 
until  they  said  I  was  not,  and  gave  rne  their 
reasons,  that  I  might  let  the  world  know  what 
my  offence  had  been. 

My  letter  was  slightingly  noticed,  and  then 
thrown  under  the  table.  Why  should  they 
notice  it?  It  was  only  the  grievance  of  a 
woman,  and  there  was  no  justice  meted  out  to 
women  in  those  days.  Even  ministers  of 
Christ  did  not  feel  that  women  had  any  rights 
which  they  were  bound  to  respect. 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  77 


CHAPTER   XX. 


THIRTY  years  ago  there  could  scarcely  a  per 
son  be  found,  in  the  churches,  to  sympathize 
with  any  one  who  talked  of  Holiness.  But,  in 
my  simplicity,  I  did  think  that  a  body  of 
Christian  ministers  would  understand  my  case 
and  judge  righteously.  I  was,  however,  dis 
appointed. 

It  is  no  little  thing  to  feel  that  every  man's 
hand  is  against  us,  and  ours  against  every 
man,  as  seemed  to  be  the  case  with  me  at  this 
time;  yet  how  precious,  if  Jesus  but  be  with 
us.  In  this  severe  trial  I  had  constant  access 
to  God,  and  a  clear  consciousness  that  he  heard 
me  ;  yet  I  did  not  seem  to  have  that  plenitude 
of  the  Spirit  that  I  had  before.  I  realized 
most  keenly  that  the  closer  the  communion 
that  may  have  existed,  the  keener  the  suffer 
ing  of  the  slightest  departure  from  God. 
Unbroken  communion  can  only  be  retained 
by  a  constant  application  of  the  blood  which 
cleanseth. 


73  A    BRAND    PLUCK i;i) 

Though  I  did  not  wish  to  pain  any  one,  nei 
ther  could  I  please  any  one  only  as  I  was  led 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  saw,  as  never  before, 
that  the  best  men  were  liable  to  err,  and  that 
the  only  safe  way  was  to  fall  on  Christ,  even 
though  censure  and  reproach  fell  upon  me  for 
obeying  his  voice.  Man's  opinion  weighed 
nothing  with  me,  for  my  commission  was  from 
heaven,  and  my  reward  was  with  the  Most 
High. 

T  could  not  believe  that  it  was  a  short-lived 
impulse  or  spasmodic  influence  that  impelled 
me  to  preach.  I  read  that  on  the  day  of  Pen 
tecost  was  the  Scripture  fulfilled  as  found  in 
Joel  ii.  28,  29 ;  and  it  certainly  will  not  be 
denied  that  women  as  well  as  men  were  at 
that  time  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  because 
it  is  expressly  stated  that  women  were  among 
^those  who  continued  in  prayer  and  supplica 
tion,  waiting  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise. 
Women  and  men  are  classed  together,  and  if 
the  power  to  preach  the  Gospel  is  short-lived 
and  spasmodic  in  the  case  of  women,  it  must 
be  equally  so  in  that  of  men ;  and  if  women 
have  lost  the  gift  of  prophecy,  so  have  men. 

We  are  sometimes  told  that  if  a  woman  pre 
tends  to  a  Divine  call,  and  thereon  grounds  the 
right  to  plead  the  cause  of  a  crucified  Redeemer 
in  public,  she  will  be  believed  when  she  shows 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  79 

credentials  from  heaven;  that  is,  when  she 
works  a  miracle.  If  it  be  necessary  to  prove 
one's  right  to  preach  the  Gospel,  I  ask  of  my 
brethren  to  show  me  their  credentials,  or  I  can 
not  believe  in  the  propriety  of  their  ministry. 

But  the  Bible  puts  an  end  to  this  strife  when 
it  says  :  "  There  is  neither  male  nor  female  in 
Christ  Jesus."  Philip  had  four  daughters  that 
prophesied,  or  preached.  Paul  called  Priscilla, 
as  well  as  Aquila,  his  "  helper,"  or,  as  in  the 
Greek,  his  "fellow-laborer."  Rom.  xv.  3;  2 
Cor.  viii.  23;  Phil.  ii.  5;  1  Thess.  iii.  2.  The 
same  word,  which,  in  our  common  translation, 
is  now  rendered  a  "servant  of  the  church,"  in 
speaking  of  Phebe  (Rom.  xix.  1.),  is  rendered 
"minister"  when  applied  to  Tychicus.  Eph. 
vi.  21.  When  Paul  said,  "  Help  those  women 
who  labor  with  me  in  the  Gospel,"  he  certainly 
meant  that  they  did  more  than  to  pour  out  tea. 
In  the  eleventh  chapter  of  First  Corinthians 
Paul  gives  directions,  to  men  and  women,  how 
they  should  appear  when  they  prophesy  or 
pray  in  public  assemblies;  and  he  defines 
prophesying  to  be  speaking  to  edification, 
exhortation  and  comfort. 

I  may  further  remark  that  the  conduct  of 
holy  women  is  recorded  in  Scripture  as  an 
example  to  others  of  their  sex.  And  in  the 
early  ages  of  Christianity  many  women  were 


80  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

happy  and  glorious  in  martyrdom.  How  nobly, 
how  heroically,  too,  in  later  ages,  have  women 
suffered  persecution  and  death  for  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

In  looking  over  these  facts,  I  could  see  no 
miracle  wrought  for  those  women  more  than 
in  myself. 

Though  opposed,  I  went  forth  laboring  for 
God,  and  he  owned  and  blessed  my  labors,  and 
has  done  so  wherever  I  have  been  until  this 
day.  And  while  I  walk  obediently,  I  know 
he  will,  though  hell  may  rage  and  vent  its 
spite. 


FROM   THE    FIRE.  81 


CHAPTER   XXL 


As  I  left  the  Conference,  God  wonderfully 
filled  my  heart  with  his  love,  so  that,  as  I 
passed  from  place  to  place,  meeting  one  and 
another  of  the  ministers,  my  heart  went  out 
in  love  to  each  of  them  as  though  he  had  been 
my  father;  and  the  language  of  1  Pet.  i.  7, 
came  forcibly  to  my  mind:  "The  trial  of  our 
faith  is  much  more  precious  than  of  gold  that 
peri  she  th,  though  it  be  tried  by  fire."  Fiery 
trials  are  not  strange  things  to  the  Lord's 
anointed.  The  rejoicing  in  them  is  born  only 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Oh,  praise  his  holy  name 
for  a  circumcised  heart,  teaching  us  that  each 
trial  of  our  faith  hath  its  commission  from  the 
Father  of  spirits.  Each  wave  of  trial  bears 
the  Galilean  Pilot  on  its  crest.  Listen:  his 
voice  is  in  the  storm,  and  winds  and  waves 
obey  that  voice  :  "It  is  I;  be  not  afraid."  He 
has  promised  us  help  and  safety  in  the  fires, 
and  not  escape  from  them. 
(6) 


82  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

"And  hereby  we  know  that  he  abideth  in 
us,  by  the  Spirit  which  he  hath  given  us."  1 
John  iii.  24.  Glory  to  the  Lamb  for  the  wit 
ness  of  the  Holy  Spirit!  He  knoweth  that 
every  step  I  have  taken  has  been  for  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  good  of  souls.  However  much 
I  may  have  erred  in  judgment,  it  has  been  the 
fault  of  my  head  and  not  of  my  heart.  I  sleep, 
but  my  heart  waketh ;  bless  the  Lord. 

Had  this  opposition  come  from  the  world,  it 
would  have  seemed  as  nothing.  But  coming, 
as  it  did,  from  those  who  had  been  much 
blessed — blessed  with  me— and  who  had  once 
been  friends  of  mine,  it  touched  a  tender  spot; 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  precious  blood  of 
Jesus,  I  should  have  been  lost. 

While  in  Philadelphia,  attending  the  Con 
ference,  I  became  acquainted  with  three  sis 
ters  who  believed  they  were  called  to  public 
labors  in  their  Master's  vineyard.  But  they 
had  been  so  opposed,  they  were  very  much  dis 
tressed  and  shrank  from  their  duty.  One  of 
them  professed  sanctification.  They  had  met 
with  more  opposition  from  ministers  than 
from  any  one  else. 

After  the  Conference  had  adjourned,  I  pro 
posed  to  these  sisters  to  procure  a  place  and 
hold  a  series  of  meetings.  They  were  pleased 
with  the  idea,  and  were  willing  to  help  if  I 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  83 

would  take  charge  of  the  meetings.  They 
apprehended  some  difficulty,  as  there  had 
never  been  a  meeting  there  under  the  sole 
charge  of  women.  The  language  of  my  heart 
was: 

"Only  Thou  my  Leader  be 
And  I  still  will  follow  Thee." 

Trusting  in  my  Leader,  I  went  on  with  the 
work.  I  hired  a  large  place  in  Canal  street, 
and  there  we  opened  our  meetings,  which  con 
tinued  eleven  nights,  and  over  one  Sabbath. 
The  room  was  crowded  every  night  —  some 
coming  to  receive  good,  others  to  criticise, 
sneer,  and  say  hard  things  against  us. 

One  of  the  sisters  left  us  after  a  day  or  two, 
fearing  that  the  Church  to  which  she  belonged 
would  disown  her  if  she  continued  to  assist  us. 
We  regretted  this  very  much,  but  could  only 
say,  "  An  enemy  hath  done  this." 

These  meetings  were  a  time  of  refreshing 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  Many  were 
converted,  and  a  few  stepped  into  the  fountain 
of  cleansing. 

Some  of  the  ministers,  who  remained  in  the 
city  after  the  Conference,  attended  our  meet 
ings,  and  occasionally  asked  us  if  we  were 
organizing  a  new  Conference,  with  a  view  of 
drawing  out  from  the  churches.  This  was 
simply  to  ridicule  our  meeting. 


84  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

We  closed  with  a  love-feast,  which  caused 
such  a  stir  among  the  ministers  and  many  of 
the  church-members,  that  we  could  not  imag 
ine  what  the  end  would  be.  They  seemed  to 
think  we  had  well  nigh  committed  the  unpar 
donable  sin. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


SOME  of  the  dear  sisters  accompanied  me  to 
Flatbush,  where  I  assisted  in  a  bush  meeting. 
The  Lord  met  the  people  in  great  power,  and  I 
doubt  not  there  are  many  souls  in  glory  to-day 
praising  God  for  that  meeting. 

From  that  place  I  went  home  to  my  father's 
house  in  Binghamton,  N.  Y.  They  were  filled 
with  joy  to  have  me  with  them  once  more, 
after  an  absence  of  six  years.  As  my  mother 
embraced  me,  she  exclaimed  :  "  So  you  are  a 
preacher,  are  you  ?  "  I  replied  :  "  So  they  say." 
"  Well,  Julia,"  said  she,  "  when  I  first  heard 
that  you  were  a  preacher,  I  said  that  I  would 
rather  hear  you  were  dead."  These  words, 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  85 

coming  so  unexpectedly  from  my  mother, 
filled  me  with  anguish.  Was  I  to  meet  oppo 
sition  here,  too  ?  But  my  mother,  with  stream 
ing  eyes,  continued  :  "  My  dear  daughter,  it  is 
all  past  now.  I  have  heard  from  those  who 
have  attended  your  meetings  what  the  Lord 
has  done  for  you,  and  I  am  satisfied." 

My  stay  in  Binghamton  was  protracted  sev 
eral  months.  I  held  meetings  in  and  around 
the  town,  to  the  acceptance  of  the  people,  and, 
I  trust,  to  the  glory  of  God.  I  felt  perfectly 
satisfied,  when  the  time  came  for  me  to  leave, 
that  my  work  was  all  for  the  Lord,  and  my 
soul  was  filled  with  joy  and  thankfulness  for 
salvation.  Before  leaving,  my  parents  decided 
to  move  to  Boston,  which  they  did  soon  after. 

I  left  Binghamton  the  first  of  February, 
1855,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Henry  John 
son  and  his  wife,  for  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  where  I 
labored  a  short  time.  I  met  with  some  oppo 
sition  from  one  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  trustees. 
He  said  a  woman  should  not  preach  in  the 
church.  Beloved,  the  God  we  serve  fights  all 
our  battles,  and  before  I  left  the  place  that 
trustee  was  one  of  the  most  faithful  at  my 
meetings,  and  was  very  kind  to  assist  me  on 
my  journey  when  I  left  Ithaca.  I  stopped  one 
night  at  Owego,  at  Brother  Loyd's,  and  I  also 
stopped  for  a  short  time  at  Onondaga,  returned 


86  A    BRAND   PLUCKED 

to  Ithaca  on  the  14th  of  February,  and  staid 
until  the  7th  of  March,  during  which  time 
the  work  of  grace  was  greatly  revived.  Some 
believed  and  entered  into  the  rest  of  full  sal 
vation,  many  were  converted,  and  a  number  of 
backsliders  were  reclaimed.  I  held  prayer- 
meetings  from  house  to  house.  The  sisters 
formed  a  woman's  prayer-meeting,  and  the 
whole  church  seemed  to  be  working  in  unison 
for  Christ. 

March  7th  I  took  the  stage  for  Geneva,  and, 
arriving  late  at  night,  went  to  a  hotel.  In 
the  morning  Brother  Rosel  Jeffrey  took  me  to 
his  house  and  left  me  with  his  wife.  He  was  a 
zealous  Christian,  but  she  scoffed  at  religion, 
and  laughed  and  made  sport  during  family 
worship.  I  do  not  know,  but  hope  that  long 
ere  this  she  has  ceased  to  ridicule  the  cause  or 
the  followers  of  Christ.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  day  Brother  Condell  came  and  invited  me 
to  his  house.  I  found  his  wife  a  pleasant 
Christian  woman.  Sabbath  afternoon  I  held  a 
meeting  in  Brother  Condell's  house.  The  col 
ored  people  had  a  church  which  the  whites 
had  given  them. '  It  was  a  union  church,  to  be 
occupied  on  alternate  Sundays  by  the  Method 
ists  and  Baptists. 

According  to  arrangement,  this  Sunday 
evening  was  the  time  for  the  Methodists  to 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  87 

occupy  the  church.  The  Rev.  Dawsey,  of  Can- 
andaigua,  came  to  fill  his  appointment,  but, 
when  we  arrived  at  the  church,  the  Baptist 
minister,  William  Monroe,  objected  to  our 
holding  a  meeting  in  the  house  that  evening, 
and  his  members  joined  with  him  in  his 
unchristian  course.  Rather  than  have  any 
trouble,  we  returned  to  Brother  Condell's 
house.  The  minister  preached  and  I  followed 
with  a  short  exhortation.  The  Lord  was  pres 
ent  to  bless.  They  made  an  appointment  for 
me  to  preach  at  the  union  meeting-house  on 
the  following  Tuesday  evening. 

Monday  evening  I  went  with  some  of  the 
sisters  to  the  church,  where  there  was  a  meet 
ing  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  moral  reform 
society. 

After  the  meeting,  Brother  Condell  asked 
the  trustees  if  they  had  any  objection  to  hav 
ing  me  speak  in  the  church  the  nexfc  evening. 
To  this,  Minister  Monroe  and  another  man — I 
had  almost  said  a  fiend  in  human  shape  — 
answered  that  they  did  not  believe  in  women's 
preaching,  and  would  not  admit  one  in  the 
church,  striving  hard  to  justify  themselves 
from  the  Bible,  which  one  of  them  held  in  his 
unholy  hands. 

I  arose  to  speak,  when  Mr.  Monroe  inter 
rupted  me.  After  a  few  words  I  left  the  house.* 


88  A    BRAND    PLUCKED 

The  next  afternoon,  while  taking  tea  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  sisters,  Minister  Monroe 
came  in  to  tell  me  he  heard  that  our  brethren 
had  said  they  would  have  the  church  for  me  if 
they  had  to  "  shed  blood."  He  asked  me  if  I 
wanted  to  have  anything  to  do  with  a  fight  of 
that  kind.  I  replied:  "The  weapons  with 
which  I  fight  are  not  carnal,  and,  if  I  go  to 
a  place  and  am  invited  to  use  the  weapons 
God  has  given  me,  I  must  use  them  to  his 
glory." 

"  Well,"  said.he,  "  I  shall  be  in  the  pulpit  at 
an  early  hour,  and  will  not  leave  it  though 
they  break  my  head." 

"  Mr.  Monroe,"  said  I,  "  God  can  take  you 
from  the  pulpit  without  breaking  your  head." 
At  this  he  became  very  much  excited,  and 
raved  as  if  he  were  a  madman.  For  two  hours 
he  walked  the  floor,  talking  and  reading  all 
the  time.  I  made  him  no  reply  and  tried  not 
to  notice  him,  and  finally  he  left  me. 

At  the  proper  time  we  went  to  the  church. 
It  was  full,  but  everything  was  in  confusion. 
Mr.  Monroe  was  in  the  pulpit.  I  saw  at  once 
that  God  could  not  be  glorified  in  the  midst  of 
such  a  pandemonium;  so  I  withdrew  at  once. 
I  was  told  they  kept  up  the  contention  until 
after  ten  o'clock.  Mr.  Monroe  tried  hard  to 
"get  our  trustees  to  say  I  should  not  preach  in 


FROM   THE    FIRE.  89 

the  place,  but  they  would  give  him  no  such 
promise. 

As  I  was  obliged  to  leave  in  a  few  days,  to 
meet  other  appointments,  our  men  procured  a 
large  house,  where  I  held  a  meeting  the  next 
evening.  All  that  attended  were  quiet  and 
orderly ;  one  man  arose  for  prayers. 

Dear  sisters,  who  are  in  the  evangelistic 
work  now,  you  may  think  you  have  hard 
times;  but  let  me  tell  you,  I  feel  that  the  lion 
and  lamb  are  lying  down  together,  as  com 
pared  with  the  state  of  things  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  ago.  Yes,  yes ;  our  God  is  march 
ing  on.  Glory  to  his  name  1 


90  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


I  REACHED  Rochester  on  the  16th  of  March, 
where  I  remained  three  weeks,  laboring  con 
stantly  for  my  Master,  who  rewarded  me  in 
the  salvation  of  souls.  Here  God  visited  me 
after  the  same  manner  he  did  Elijah,  when 
Elijah  prayed  to  die.  He  strengthened  me 
and  bid  me  go  forward  with  the  promises 
recorded  in  the  first  chapter  of  Joshua. 

April  21st  I  bade  good-bye  to  Brother  John 
H.  Bishop's  people,  who  had  entertained  me 
while  in  Rochester,  and  went  to  Binghamton 
to  visit  my  parents  again.  I  found  them  all 
well,  and  labored  constantly  for  the  Lord  while 
I  was  there.  I  remained  at  home  until  the 
8th  of  May,  when  I  once  more  started  out  on 
my  travels  for  the  Lord.  There  was  but  one 
passenger  in  the  stage  besides  myself.  He 
gave  his  name  as  White,  seemed  very  uneasy, 
and,  at  each  stopping  place,  he  would  say  :  "  I 
am  afraid  the  public  will  take  me  for  an  aboli- 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  91 

tionist  to-day;"  thus  showing  his  dark,  slave- 
holding  principles. 

I  staid  one  night  in  Oxford,  at  Mr.  Jack 
son's.  At  six  o'clock  the  next  morning  I  took 
passage  on  the  canal  packet  ''Governor  Sew- 
ard,"  with  Captain  George  Keeler.  That  night, 
at  a  late  hour,  I  made  my  way  into  the  ladies' 
cabin,  and,  finding  an  empty  berth,  retired. 
In  a  short  time  a  man  came  into  the  cabin, 
saying  that  the  berths  in  the  gentlemen's 
cabin  were  all  occupied,  and  he  was  going  to 
sleep  in  the  ladies'  cabin.  Then  he  pointed 
to  me  and  said:  "That  nigger  has  no  business 
here.  My  family  are  coming  on  board  the 
boat  at  Utica,  and  they  shall  not  come  where  a 
nigger  is."  They  called  the  captain,  and  he 
ordered  me  to  get  up;  but  I  did  not  stir,  think 
ing  it  best  not  to  leave  the  bed  except  by  force. 
Finally  they  left  me,  and  the  man  found  lodg 
ing  among  the  seamen,  swearing  vengeance  on 
the  "niggers." 

The  next  night  the  boat  stopped  at  a  vil 
lage,  and  the  captain  procured  lodging  for  me 
at  an  inn.  Thus  I  escaped  further  abuse  from 
that  ungodly  man. 

The  second  night  we  reached  Utica,  where  I 
staid  over  Sunday.  Then  I  went  to  Schenec- 
tady,  where  I  remained  a  few  days,  working  for 
my  Master.  Then  I  went  to  Albany,  my  old 


92 


A    BRAND    PLUCKED 


home.  Sunday  afternoon  I  preached  in  Troy, 
and  that  Sunday  evening  in  Albany,  to  a 
crowded  house.  There  were  many  of  my  old 
friends  and  acquaintances  in  the  audience. 
This  was  the  most  solemn  and  interesting 
meeting  I  ever  held.  The  entire  audience 
seemed  moved  to  prayer  and  tears  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

On  May  21st  I  went  to  New  York.  During 
the  year  that  followed  I  visited  too  large  a 
number  of  places  to  mention  in  this  little 
work. 

I  went  from  Philadelphia  in  company  with 
thirty  ministers  and  Bishop  Brown,  to  attend 
the  General  Conference,  which  was  held  in 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.  The  ministers  chartered  the 
conveyance,  and  we  had  a  very  pleasant  and 
interesting  journey.  The  discussions  during 
the  day  and  meetings  at  night,  011  the  canal 
boat,  were  instructive  and  entertaining.  A 
very  dear  sister,  Ann  M.  Johnson,  accom 
panied  me.  The  grand,  romantic  scenery, 
which  I  beheld  while  crossing  the  Alleghany 
mountains,  filled  me  with  adoration  and  praise 
to  the  great  Creator  of  all  things.  We  reached 
Pittsburgh  on  the  4th  of  June,  and  the  Gen 
eral  Conference  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  con 
vened  on  the  6th  of  June.  The  Conference 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  93 

lasted  two  weeks,  and  was  held  with  open 
doors. 

The  business  common  to  such  meetings  was 
transacted  with  spirit  and  harmony,  with  few 
exceptions.  One  was,  a  motion  to  prevent 
Free  Masons  from  ministering  in  the  churches. 
Another,  to  allow  all  the  women  preachers  to 
become  members  of  the  conferences.  This 
caused  quite  a  sensation,  bringing  many  mem 
bers  to  their  feet  at  once.  They  all  talked  and 
screamed  to  the  bishop,  who  could  scarcely 
keep  order.  The  Conference  was  so  incensed 
at  the  brother  who  offered  the  petition  that 
they  threatened  to  take  action  against  him. 

I  remained  several  weeks,  laboring  among 
the  people,  much  to  the  comfort  of  my  own 
soul,  and,  I  humbly  trust,  to  the  upbuilding  of 
my  dear  Master's  kingdom.  I  found  the  peo 
ple  very  kind  and  benevolent. 


94  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 
—    tni\i  af  mg 


FROM  Pittsburgh  I  went  to  Cincinnati,  where 
I  found  a  large  number  of  colored  people  of  dif 
ferent  denominations.  The  Methodists  had  a 
very  good  meeting-house  on  Sixth  street,  below 
Broad  street.  The  members  appeared  to  enjoy 
religion,  but  were  very  much  like  the  world  in 
their  external  appearance  and  cold  indifference 
toward  each  other. 

The  station  and  circuit  joined  in  holding  a 
camp-meeting.  The  minister  urged  me  very 
strongly  to  attend,  which  I  did.  Several  souls 
professed  faith  in  Christ  at  this  meeting,  but 
only  one  was  willing  to  receive  him  in  all  his 
fullness. 

After  this  meeting  I  labored  in  quite  a  num 
ber  of  places  in  Ohio.  At  some  places  I  was 
kindly  received,  at  others  I  was  not  allowed  to 
labor  publicly. 

While  thus  laboring  far  from  home,  the  sad 
intelligence  of  my  husband's  death  came  to  me 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  95 

so  suddenly  as  to  almost  cause  me  to  sink 
beneath  the  blow.  But  the  arm  of  my  dear, 
loving,  heavenly  Father  sustained  me,  and  I 
was  enabled  to  say :  "  Though  he  slay  me,  yet 
will  I  trust  in  him."  I  immediately  hastened 
home  to  Boston,  where  I  learned  the  particu 
lars  of  my  husband's  death,  which  occurred  on 
ship-board  several  months  before.  None  but 
the  dear  Lord  knew  what  my  feelings  were.  I 
dared  not  complain,  and  thus  cast  contempt  on 
my  blessed  Saviour,  for  I  knew  he  would  not 
lay  more  upon  me  than  I  could  bear.  He 
knows  how  to  deliver  the  godly  out  of  tempta 
tion  and  affliction ;  all  events  belong  to  him. 
All  we  have  to  be  careful  for  is,  to  know  of  a 
truth  that  Christ  is  formed  in  our  hearts  the 
hope  of  glory,  and  hath  set  up  his  kingdom 
there,  to  reign  over  every  affection  and  desire. 
Glory  to  the  Lamb,  who  giveth  me  power  thus 
to  live! 

After  arranging  my  affairs  at  home,  I  went 
to  Albany,  where  my  sister  lived,  staid  a  short 
time  with  her,  and  held  some  meetings  there. 
Then  I  went  to  Bethlehem,  where  I  held  sev 
eral  meetings,  one  in  the  M.  E.  Church,  which 
was  arranged  only  after  there  had  been  con 
siderable  controversy  about  letting  a  woman 
preach  in  their  house.  From  there  I  went  to 
Troy,  where  I  also  held  meetings.  In  each  of 


96  A   BKAND   PLUCKED 

these  places  this  "brand  plucked  from  the 
burning"  was  used  of  God  to  his  glory  in 
saving  precious  souls.  To  his  name  be  all  the 
glory ! 

I  spent  one  Sunday  in  Poughkeepsie,  work 
ing  for  Jesus.  I  then  went  to  New  York, 
where  I  took  the  boat  for  Boston.  We  were 
detained  some  hours  by  one  of  the  shafts 
breaking.  I  took  a  very  severe  cold  by  being 
compelled  to  sit  on  deck  all  night,  in  the  cold, 
damp  air — prejudice  not  permitting  one  of  my 
color  to  enter  the  cabin  except  in  the  capacity 
of  a  servant.  0  Prejudice !  thou  cruel  mon 
ster!  wilt  thou  ever  cease  to  exist?  Not  until 
all  shall  know  the  Lord,  and  holiness  shall  be 
written  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses — upon  all 
things  in  earth  as  well  as  in  heaven.  Glory 
to  the  Lamb,  whose  right  it  is  to  reign! 

Upon  my  arrival  home  I  found  my  father 
quite  ill.  He  was  sick  for  several  months,  and 
I  remained  at  home  until  after  his  death,  which 
event  took  place  in  May,  1849.  He  bore  his 
long,  painful  illness  with  Christian  patience 
and  resignation.  Just  before  leaving  us  for 
the  better  world,  he  called  each  of  his  children 
that  were  present  to  his  bedside,  exhorting 
them  to  live  here  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
might  meet  him  in  heaven.  To  me  he  said : 
"  My  dear  daughter,  be  faithful  to  your  heav- 


FROM   THE   FIHE.  97 

enly  calling,  and  fear  not  to  preach  full  salva 
tion."  After  some  precious  words  to  his  weep 
ing  wife,  my  dear  father  was  taken  to  his  eter 
nal  rest.  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  for  an 
earnest,  Christian  father !  Reader,  I  trust  it  is 
your  lot  to  have  faithful,  believing  parents. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 


JUNE  18th,  1849,  1  bade  my  mother  and  family 
farewell,  and  started  out  on  my  mission  agiin. 
I  stopped  in  New  York,  where  I  was  joined  by 
Sister  Ann  M.  Johnson,  who  became  rny  trav 
eling  companion.  We  went  to  Philadelphia, 
where  we  were  entertained  by  Brother  and 
Sister  Lee.  The  dear,  kind  friends  welcomed 
us  warmly.  Sister  Johnson  did  not  feel  moved 
to  labor  in  public,  except  to  sing,  pray,  and 
recount  her  experience.  I  labored  constantly 
while  in  this  city,  going  from  church  to 
church. 

On  the  28th  we  went  to  Snow  Hill,  where 
we  spent  one  Sunday.  We  visited  Fethers- 
(7) 


98  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

ville,  Bordentown,  Westchester  and  Westtown, 
all  to  the  glory  of  God.  I  must  say,  the  clear 
Holy  Spirit  wonderfully  visited  the  people  in 
all  these  places.  Many  were  converted,  and, 
now  and  then,  one  would  step  into  the  foun 
tain  of  cleansing. 

July  20th  we  left  for  New  York,  stopping 
at  Burlington,  Trenton,  Princeton,  Rah  way, 
Brunswick  and  Newark.  In  each  of  these 
places  we  spent  several  days,  much  to  our  com 
fort  and  the  apparent  good  of  the  churches. 
We  arrived  in  New  York  city  August  3d,  and 
went  to  Bridgeport  (Conn.)  by  boat.  We 
found  the  church  there  in  a  very  unsettled 
condition  because  of  unbelief.  We  next  went 
to  New  Haven,  where  we  had  some  precious 
meetings.  In  Providence,  R.  I.,  we  also  received 
God's  blessing  on  our  labors. 

At  this  time  I  received  a  pressing  invitation 
from  Rev.  Daniel  A.  Paine,  who  is  now  bishop 
of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church,  to  visit  Baltimore, 
which  I  accepted.  Upon  our  arrival  there  we 
were  closely  questioned  as  to  our  freedom,  and 
carefully  examined  for  marks  on  our  persons 
by  which  to  identify  us  if  we  should  prove  to 
be  runaways.  While  there,  a  daughter  of  the 
lady  with  whom  we  boarded  ran  away  from 
her  self-styled  master.  He  came,  with  others, 
to  her  mother's  house  at  midnight,  burst  in 


FROM   THE    FIRE.  99 

the  door  without  ceremony,  and  swore  the  girl 
was  hid  in  the  house,  and  that  he  would  have 
her,  dead  or  alive.  They  repeated  this  for 
several  nights.  They  often  came  to  our  bed 
and  held  their  light  in  our  faces,  to  see  if  the 
one  for  whom  they  were  looking  was  not  with 
us.  The  mother  was,  of  course,  in  great  dis 
tress.  I  believe  they  never  recovered  the  girl. 
Thank  the  dear  Lord  we  do  not  have  to  suffer 
such  indignities  now,  though  the  monster, 
Slavery,  is  not  yet  dead  in  all  its  forms. 

We  remained  some  time  in  Baltimore,  labor 
ing  mostly  in  Brother  Paine's  charge.  We 
then  went  to  Washington,  D.  C.,  where  our 
Conference  was  in  session.  The  meetings  were 
excellent,  and  great  good  was  being  done, 
when  an  incident  occurred  which  cast  a  gloom 
over  the  whole  Conference.  One  day,  when  a 
number  of  the  ministers,  Sister  Johnson  and 
myself,  were  dining  at  the  house  of  one  of  the 
brethren,  a  slaveholder  came  and  searched  the 
house  for  a  runaway.  We  realized  more  and 
more  what  a  terrible  thing  it  was  for  one 
human  being  to  have  absolute  control  over 
another. 

We  remained  in  Washington  a  few  weeks, 
laboring  for  Christ.  Although,  at  the  time,  it 
seemed  as  though  Satan  ruled  there  supreme, 
God  gave  us  to  know  that  his  righteousness 


100  A    BRAND   PLUCKED 

was  being  set  up  in  many  hearts.  Glory  to 
his  excellent  name. 

The  larger  portion  of  the  past  year  had  been 
a  time  of  close  trial,  yet  I  do  not  recollect  ever 
closing  a  year  more  fully  in  Christ  than  I  did 
that  one.  On  taking  a  retrospective  view  of 
it,  I  found  great  cause  for  humiliation  as  well 
as  thankfulness.  I  was  satisfied  with  the 
Lord's  dealings  with  me ;  my  mind  was  kept 
in  peace,  while  many  had  declined  on  the 
right  hand  and  on  the  left;  I  was  thankful 
that  any  were  spared  to  bear  the  standard  of 
the  Redeemer. 

Since  I  first  entered  the  vineyard  of  my 
divine  Master,  I  have  seen  many  a  star  fall, 
and  many  a  shining  light  go  out  and  sink 
into  darkness.  Many,  who  have  been  singu 
larly  owned  and  blessed  of  God,  have  deserted 
his  standard  in  the  day  of  trial ;  yet,  through 
his  abounding  grace,  have  I  been  kept.  Glory 
be  to  the  keeping  power  of  the  blood  that 
cleanseth  me,  even  me,  from  all  sin ! 


FROM   THE   FIKE.  101 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


IN  June,  1850,  I  crossed  the  Alleghany 
mountains  the  second  time.  I  was  very  sick 
on  the  journey,  and  on  arriving  in  Pitts 
burgh,  was  not  able  to  sit  up.  Finding  me  in 
a  raging  fever,  my  friends  called  in  a  physi 
cian,  and,  as  I  continued  to  grow  worse, 
another  one.  For  three  weeks  my  life  was 
despaired  of;  and  finally,  on  beginning  to 
recover,  it  was  many  months  before  I  felt 
quite  well.  In  this  severe  affliction  grace 
wonderfully  sustained  me.  Bless  the  Lord! 

I  was  advised  to  go  down  the  Ohio  river  for 
the  benefit  of  my  health.  Therefore,  as  soon 
as  I  was  able  to  do  so,  I  started  for  Cincinnati. 
I  staid  there  several  weeks  with  some  friends 
by  the  name  of  Jones.  The  Lord  so  strength 
ened  me,  that,  in  a  few  months,  I  was  able  to 
resume  my  labors. 

In  October  we  went  to  Columbus.  We 
labored  there  and  hi  that  vicinity  for  some 


102  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

time,  content  that  in  our  protracted  effort 
quite  a  number  were  converted.  There  were 
three  persons  there  who  said  they  had  once 
enjoyed  the  blessing  of  sanctification,  but 
were  not  then  clear  in  the  experience.  Oh, 
how  few  are  advocates  for  full  salvation ! 
Some  will  hold  the  whole  truth  in  profession 
when  and  where  it  is  not  opposed,  but,  if  they 
must  become  fools  for  the  truth's  sake,  they 
compromise  with  error.  Such  have  not  and 
will  not  come  to  the  perfect  rest  and  inherit 
ance  of  the  saints  on  earth. 

In  April,  1851,  we  visited  Chillicothe,  and 
had  some  glorious  meetings  there.  Great 
crowds  attended  every  night,  and  the  altar 
was  crowded  with  anxious  inquirers.  Some 
of  the  deacons  of  the  white  people's  Baptist 
church  invited  me  to  preach  in  their  church, 
but  I  declined  to  do  so,  on  account  of  the  oppo 
sition  of  the  pastor,  who  was  very  much  set 
against  women's  preaching.  He  said  so  much 
against  it,  and  against  the  members  who 
wished  me  to  preach,  that  they  called  a 
church  meeting,  and  I  heard  that  they  finally 
dismissed  him. 

The  white  Methodists  invited  me  to  speak 
for  them,  but  did  not  want  the  colored  people 
to  attend  the  meeting.  I  would  not  agree  to 
any  such  arrangement,  and,  therefore,  I  did 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  103 

not  speak  for  them.  Prejudice  had  closed  the 
door  of  their  sanctuary  against  the  colored 
people  of  the  place,  virtually  saying :  "  The 
Gospel  shall  not  be  free  to  all."  Our  benign 
Master  and  Saviour  said  :  "  Go,  preach  my  Gos 
pel  to  all." 

\Ve  visited  Zanesville,  Ohio,  laboring  for 
white  and  colored  people.  The  white  Method 
ists  opened  their  house  for  the  admission  of 
colored  people  for  the  first  time.  Hundreds 
were  turned  away  at  each  meeting,  unable  to 
get  in;  and,  although  the  house  was  so  crowded, 
perfect  order  prevailed.  We  also  held  meet 
ings  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  God  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  powerfully  manifest  in  all 
these  meetings.  I  was  the  recipient  of  many 
mercies,  and  passed  through  various  exercises. 
In  all  of  them  I  could  trace  the  hand  of  God 
and  claim  divine  assistance  whenever  I  most 
needed  it.  Whatever  I  needed,'  by  faith  I  had. 
Glory!  glory!!  While  God  lives,  and  Jesus 
sits  on  his  right  hand,  nothing  shall  be  impos 
sible  unto  me,  if  I  hold  fast  faith  with  a  pure 
conscience. 

On  the  27th  we  went  to  Detroit,  Mich.  On 
the  way,  Sister  Johnson  had  a  very  severe 
attack  of  ague,  which  lasted  for  several  weeks. 
My  soul  had  great  liberty  for  God  while  labor 
ing  in  this  place. 


104  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

One  day,  quite  an  influential  man  in  the 
community,  though  a  sinner,  called  on  me  and 
appeared  deeply  concerned  about  his  soul's 
welfare.  He  urged  me  to  speak  from  Micah 
iv.  13:  "Arise  and  thresh,  0  daughter  of  Zion," 
etc.  I  took  his  desire  to  the  Lord,  and  was 
permitted  to  speak  from  that  passage  after  this 
manner :  710  B.  C.  corn  was  threshed  among 
the  Orientals  by  means  of  oxen  or  horses, 
which  were  driven  round  an  area  filled  with 
loose  sheaves.  By  their  continued  tramping 
the  corn  was  separated  from  the  straw.  That 
this  might  be  done  the  more  effectually,  the 
text  promised  an  addition  to  the  natural  horny 
substance  on  the  feet  of  these  animals,  by 
making  the  horn  iron  and  the  hoof  brass. 

Corn  is  not  threshed  in  this  manner  by  us, 
but  by  means  of  flails,  so  that  I  feel  I  am 
doing  no  injury  to  the  sentiment  of  the  text 
by  changing  a  few  of  the  terms  into  those 
which  are  the  most  familiar  to  us  now.  The 
passage  portrays  the  Gospel  times,  though  in  a 
more  restricted  sense  it  applies  to  the  preach 
ers  of  the  word.  Yet  it  has  a  direct  reference 
to  all  God's  people,  who  were  and  are  com 
manded  to  arise  and  thresh.  Glory  to  Jesus! 
now  is  this  prophecy  fulfilled — Joel  ii.  28  and 
29.  They  are  also  commanded  to  go  to  God, 
who  alone  is  able  to  qualify  them  for  their 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  105 

labors  by  making  their  horns  iron  and  their 
hoofs  brass.  The  Lord  was  desirous  of  impart 
ing  stability  and  perpetuity  to  his  own  divine 
work,  by  granting  supernatural  aid  to  the 
faithful  that  they  might  perform  for  him 
those  services  for  which  their  own  feeble  and 
unassisted  powers  were  totally  inadequate. 
More  than  this,  it  is  encouraging  to  the 
saints  to  know  that  they  are  provided  with 
weapons  both  offensive  and  defensive. 

The  threshing  instrument  is  of  the  former 
description.  It  is  of  the  same  quality  as  that 
which  is  quick  and  powerful  and  sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sword.  "  For  this  purpose  the 
Son  of  God  was  manifested,  that  he  might 
destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,"  and  this  is 
one  of  the  weapons  which  he  employs  in  the 
hands  of  his  people  to  carry  his  gracious 
designs  into  execution,  together  with  the 
promise  that  they  shall  beat  in  pieces  many 
people.  Isa.  xxiii.  18;  Ix.  6-9. 

There  are  many  instances  of  the  successful 
application  of  the  Gospel  flail,  by  which 
means  the  devil  is  threshed  out  of  sinners. 
With  the  help  of  God.  I  am  resolved,  0  sinner, 
to  try  what  effect  the  smart  strokes  of  this 
threshing  instrument  will  produce  on  thy 
unhumbled  soul.  This  is  called  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  and  is  in  reality  the  word  of  God. 


106  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

Such  a  weapon  may  seem  contemptible  in  the 
eyes  of  the  natural  man;  yet,  when  it  is  pow 
erfully  wielded,  the  consequences  are  invaria 
bly  potent  and  salutary.  Bless  God!  the  Reve- 
lator  says :  "  They  overcame  by  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb  and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony; 
and  they  loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death." 
The  atonement  is  the  greatest  weapon.  In 
making  trial  of  its  efficacy,  little  children 
have  caused  the  parent  to  cry  aloud  for  mercy; 
but,  in  every  case,  much  of  its  heavenly  charm 
and  virtue  depends  upon  the  mode  in  which  it 
is  applied. 

This  Gospel  flail  should  be  lifted  up  in  a 
kind  and  loving  spirit.  Many  shrink  at  sight 
of  the  flail,  and  some  of  us  know,  by  blessed 
experience,  that  when  its  smart  strokes  are 
applied  in  the  power  and  demonstration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  it  causes  the  very  heart  to  feel 
sore  and  painful.  Penitent  soul,  receive  the 
castigation,  and  you  will  feel,  after  it,  like 
saying:  "Now  let  me  be  crucified,  and  this 
work  of  the  devil,  inbred  sin,  put  to  death, 
that  Christ  may  live  and  reign  in  me  without 
a  rival." 

To  the  glory  of  God  I  wish  to  say,  that  the 
unconverted  man,  who  gave  me  the  text  for 
the  above  discourse,  gave  his  heart  to  God, 
together  with  many  others,  before  we  left 


FROM   THE  FIRE.  107 

Detroit.  In  after  years  I  was  informed  of  his 
happy  death.  Praise  the  Lord  for  full  and 
free  salvation !  Reader,  have  you  this  salva 
tion — an  ever-flowing  fountain — in  your  soul? 
God  grant  it.  Amen ! 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 


IN  June,  1851,  we  went  to  Canada,  where  we 
were  kindly  received.  We  labored  in  different 
churches  with  great  success.  We  found  many 
living  Christians  there  —  some  holding  high 
the  light  of  full  salvation,  and  others  willing 
to  be  cleansed.  After  spending  a  few  weeks 
there,  we  crossed  to  Buffalo,  but  did  not  make 
any  stay  there  at  that  time. 

The  places  visited  during  that  year  are  too 
numerous  to  mention  here.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church  went  before  us, 
clearing  the  way  and  giving  us  unmistakable 
evidence  of  his  presence  in  every  battle.  Hal 
lelujah  ! 


108  A  BRAND  PLUCKED 

We  returned  to  Columbus  to  fill  an  appoint 
ment  which  was  awaiting  us.  After  this,  we 
made  arrangements  to  go  to  Cleveland.  One 
of  the  brethren  engaged  our  passage  and  paid 
the  fare,  but  we  were  not  permitted  to  leave 
until  four  days  afterward.  At  that  time  a  col 
ored  person  was  not  allowed  to  ride  in  the 
stage  if  any  white  passenger  objected  to  it. 
There  were  objections  made  for  three  morn 
ings,  but,  on  the  fourth,  the  stage  called  for  us, 
and  we  had  a  safe  journey  to  Cleveland.  We 
expected  to  make  a  visit  %uly,  as  in  other 
cities ;  but  the  All-Father  intended  otherwise, 
and,  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  Cleveland 
became  my  home.  After  settling  down,  we 
still  continued  to  visit  neighboring  cities  and 
labor  for  Christ. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  I  became 
afflicted  with  the  throat  difficulty,  of  which  I 
shall  speak  later.  Beloved,  the  dear  Lord  only 
knows  how  sorely  I  was  tried  and  tempted 
over  this  affliction. 

St.  James  speaks  of  temptations  as  being 
common  to  the  most  holy  of  men,  and  also  as  a 
matter  of  joy  and  rejoicing  to  such  as  are  exer 
cised  thereby,  if  so  be  they  are  not  overcome 
by  them.  I  think  all  temptation  has  a  tend 
ency  to  sin,  but  all  temptation  is  not  sin. 
There  is  a  diversity  of  temptations,  and  a 


FROM   THE   FIEE.  109 

diversity  of  causes  from  which  temptations 
proceed.  Some  come  immediately  from  our 
corrupt  nature,  and  are  in  themselves  sinful. 
Others  arise  from  the  infirmity  of  our  nature, 
and  these  every  Christian  has  to  contend  with 
so  long  as  he  sojourns'  in  a  tabernacle  of 
clay.  There  are  also  temptations  which  come 
directly  from  the  enemy  of  souls.  These  our 
blessed  Lord  severely  labored  under,  and  so  do 
the  majority  of  his  children.  "  Blessed  is  the 
man  that  endureth  temptation  "  ! 

During  the  years  that  I  rested  from  my 
labors  and  tried  to  recover  my  health,  God 
permitted  me  to  pass  through  the  furnace  of 
trial,  heated  seven  times  hotter  than  usual. 
Had  not  the  three-one  God  been  with  me,  I 
surely  must  have  gone  beneath  the  waves. 
God  permits  afflictions  and  persecutions  to 
come  upon  his  chosen  people  to  answer  various 
ends.  Sometimes  for  the  trial  of  their  faith, 
and  the  exercise  of  their  patience  and  resigna 
tion  to  his  will,  and  sometimes  to  draw  them 
off  from  all  human  dependence,  and  te  teach 
them  to  trust  in  Him  alone.  Sometimes  he 
suffers  the  wicked  to  go  a  great  way,  and  the 
ungodly  to  triumph  over  us,  that  he  may 
prove  our  steadfastness  and  make  manifest  his 
power  in  upholding  us.  Thus  it  was  with  me. 
I  had  trusted  too  much  in  human  wisdom,  and 


110  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

God  suffered  all  these  things  to  come  upon  me. 
He  upheld  me  by  his  grace,  freeing  me  from 
all  care  or  concern  about  my  health  or  what 
man  could  do.  He  taught  me  to  sit  patiently, 
and  wait  to  hear  my  Shepherd's  voice ;  for  I 
was  resolved  to  follow  no  stranger,  however 
plausibly  he  might  plead. 

I  shall  praise  God  through  all  eternity  for 
sending  me  to  Cleveland,  even  though  I  have 
been  called  to  suffer. 

In  1856,  Sister  Johnson,  who  had  been  my 
companion  during  all  these  years  of  travel, 
left  me  for  her  heavenly  home.  She  bore  her 
short  illness  without  a  murmur,  resting  on 
Jesus.  As  she  had  lived,  so  she  died,  in  the 
full  assurance  of  faith,  happy  and  collected  to 
the  last,  maintaining  her  standing  in  the  way 
of  holiness  without  swerving  either  to  the 
right  or  to  the  left.  Glory  to  the  blood  that 
keeps  us ! 

My  now  sainted  mother,  who  was  then  in 
feeble  health,  lived  with  me  in  Cleveland  for  a 
few  years.  As  the  time  for  her  departure  drew 
near,  she  very  much  desired  to  visit  her  two 
daughters — one  in  Albany,  the  other  in  Bos 
ton.  I  feared  she  was  not  able  to  endure  the 
journey,  but  her  desire  was  so  strong,  and  her 
confidence  in  God  so  great  that  he  would  spare 
her  to  see  her  girls  again,  that  I  finally  con- 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  Ill 

sented  that  she  should  undertake  the  journey. 
I  put  her  in  charge  of  friends  who  were  going 
east,  and  she  reached  my  sister's  house  in 
safety.  She  had  been  with  them  but  a  few 
weeks,  when  she  bade  them  a  long  farewell 
and  passed  peacefully  to  heaven.  I  shall  see 
her  again  where  parting  is  unknown. 

The  glorious  wave  of  holiness,  which  has 
been  rolling  through  Ohio  during  the  past  few 
years,  has  swept  every  hindrance  out  of  my 
way,  and  sent  me  to  sea  once  more  with  chart 
and  compass. 

"The  Bible  is  my  chart;  it  is  a  chart  and  compass  too, 
Whose  needle  points  forever  true." 

When  I  drop  anchor  again,  it  will  be  in 
heaven's  broad  bay. 

Glory  to  Jesus  for  putting  into  my  hand 
that  precious,  living  light,  "The  Christian  Har 
vester"  May  it  and  its  self-sacrificing  editor 
live  many  years,  reflecting  holy  light  as  they 

go 
lf  any  one  arise  from  the  perusal  of  this 
book,  scoffing  at  the  word  of  truth  which  he 
has  read,  I  charge  him  to  prepare  to  answer 
for  the  profanation  at  the  peril  of  his  soul. 


112  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 


tug 


DEAR  SISTERS  :  I  would  that  I  could  tell  you 
a  hundredth  part  of  what  God  has  revealed  to 
me  of  his  glory,  especially  on  that  never-to-be- 
forgotten  night  when  I  received  my  high  and 
holy  calling.  The  songs  I  heard  I  think  were 
those  which  Job,  David  and  Isaiah  speak  of 
hearing  at  night  upon  their  beds,  or  the  one 
of  which  the  Revelator  says  "no  man  could 
learn."  Certain  it  is,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
sing  it  since,  though  at  times  I  have  seemed 
to  hear  the  distant  echo  of  the  music.  When 
I  tried  to  repeat  it,  it  vanished  in  the  dim 
distance.  Glory!  glory!  glory  to  the  Most 
High  ! 

Sisters,  shall  not  you  and  I  unite  with  the 
heavenly  host  in  the  grand  chorus?  If  so, 
you  will  not  let  what  man  may  say  or  do,  keep 
you  from  doing  the  will  of  the  Lord  or  using 
the  gifts  you  have  for  the  good  of  others. 
How  much  easier  to  bear  the  reproach  of  men 


FROM    THE    FIRE.  113 

than  to  live  at  a  distance  from  God.  Be  not 
kept  in  bondage  by  those  who  say,  "We  suffer 
not  a  woman  to  teach,"  thus  quoting  Paul's 
words,  but  not  rightly  applying  them.  What 
though  we  are  called  to  pass  through  deep 
waters,  so  our  anchor  is  cast  within  the  veil, 
both  sure  and  steadfast  ?  Blessed  experience  ! 
I  have  had  to  weep  because  this  was  not  my 
constant  experience.  At  times,  a  cloud  of 
heaviness  has  covered  my  mind,  and  disobedi 
ence  has  caused  me  to  lose  the  clear  witness  of 
perfect  love. 

One  time  I  allowed  my  mind  to  dwell  too 
much  on  my  physical  condition.  I  was  suffer 
ing  severely  from  throat  difficulty,  and  took 
the  advice  of  friends,  and  sought  a  cure  from 
earthly  physicians,  instead  of  applying  to  the 
Great  Physician.  For  this  reason  my  joy  was 
checked,  and  I  was  obliged  to  cease  my  public 
labors  for  several  years.  During  all  this  time 
I  was  less  spiritual,  less  zealous,  yet  I  was  not 
willing  to  accept  the  suggestion  of  Satan,  that 
I  had  forfeited  the  blessing  of  holiness.  But 
alas !  the  witness  was  not  clear,  and  God  suf 
fered  me  to  pass  through  close  trials,  tossed  by 
the  billows  of  temptation. 

Losing  my  loving  husband  just  at  this  time, 
I  had  much  of  the  world  to  struggle  with  and 
against. 

(*) 


114  A    BRAND   PLUCKED 

Those  who  are  wholly  sanctified  need  not 
fear  that  God  will  hide  his  face,  if  they  con 
tinue  to  walk  in  the  light  even  as  Christ  is  in 
the  light.  Then  they  have  fellowship  with 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  become  of  one 
spirit  with  the  Lord.  I  do  not  believe  God 
ever  withdraws  himself  from  a  soul  which  does 
not  first  withdraw  itself  from  him,  though 
such  may  abide  under  a  cloud  for  a  season,  and 
have  to  cry:  "My  God!  my  God!  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me?" 

Glory  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  His  blood 
meets  all  the  demands  of  the  law  against  us. 
It  is  the  blood  of  Christ  that  sues  for  the  ful 
fillment  of  his  last  will  and  testament,  and 
brings  down  every  blessing  into  the  soul. 

When  I  had  well  nigh  despaired  of  a  cure 
from  my  bodily  infirmities,  I  cried  from  the 
depths  of  my  soul  for  the  blood  of  Jesus  to  be 
applied  to  my  throat.  My  faith  laid  hold  of 
the  precious  promises — John  xiv.  14;  Mark  ii. 
23 ;  xi.  24.  At  once  I  ceased  trying  to  join  the 
iron  and  the  clay— the  truth  of  God  with  the 
sayings  and  advice  of  men.  I  looked  to  my 
God  for  a  fresh  act  of  his  sanctifying  power. 
Bless  his  name !  deliverance  did  come,  with 
the  balm,  and  my  throat  has  troubled  me  but 
little  since.  This  was  ten  years  ago.  Praise 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  115 

the  Lord  for  that  holy  fire  which  many  waters 
of  trial  and  temptation  cannot  quench. 

Dear  sisters  in  Christ,  are  any  of  you  also 
without  understanding  and  slow  of  heart  to 
believe,  as  were  the  disciples?  Although  they 
had  seen  their  Master  do  many  mighty  works, 
yet,  with  change  of  place  or  circumstances, 
they  would  go  back  upon  the  old  ground  of 
carnal  reasoning  and  unbelieving  fears.  The 
darkness  and  ignorance  of  our  natures  are 
such,  that,  even  after  we  have  embraced  the 
Saviour  and  received  his  teaching,  we  are 
ready  to  stumble  at  the  plainest  truths! 
Blind  unbelief  is  always  sure  to  err;  it  can 
neither  trace  God  nor  trust  him.  Unbelief  is 
ever  alive  to  distrust  and  fear.  So  long  as 
this  evil  root  has  a  place  in  us,  our  fears  can 
not  be  removed  nor  our  hopes  confirmed. 

Not  till  the  day  of  Pentecost  did  Christ's 
chosen  ones  see  clearly,  or  have  their  under 
standings  opened;  and  nothing  short  of  a  full 
baptism  of  the  Spirit  will  dispel  our  unbelief. 
Without  this,  we  are  but  babes — all  our  lives 
are  often  carried  away  by  our  carnal  natures 
and  kept  in  bondage ;  whereas,  if  we  are 
wholly  saved  and  live  under  the  full  sanctify 
ing  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  cannot  be 
tossed  about  with  every  wind,  but,  like  an  iron 
pillar  or  a  house  built  upon  a  rock,  prove 


116  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

immovable.  Our  minds  will  then  be  fully 
illuminated,  our  hearts  purified,  and  our  souls 
filled  with  the  pure  love  of  God,  bringing 
forth  fruit  to  his  glory. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


"Ip  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  him."  1  John  ii.  15.  The 
spirit  which  is  in  the  world  is  widely  different 
from  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God;  yet  many 
vainly  imagine  they  can  unite  the  two.  But 
as  we  read  in  Luke  x.  26,  so  it  is  between  the 
spirit  of  the  world  and  the  Spirit  which  is  of 
God.  There  is  a  great  gulf  fixed  between 
them  —  a  gulf  which  cuts  off  all  union  and 
intercourse  ;  and  this  gulf  will  eternally  pre 
vent  the  least  degree  of  fellowship  in  spirit. 

If  we  be  of  God  and  have  the  love  of  the 
Father  in  our  hearts,  we  are  not  of  the  world, 
because  whatsoever  is  of  the  world  is  not  of 
God.  We  must  be  one  or  the  other.  We  can 
not  unite  heaven  and  hell  —  light  and  dark- 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  117 

ness.  Worldly  honor,  worldly  pleasure,  worldly 
grandeur,  worldly  designs  and  worldly  pur 
suits  are  all  incompatible  with  the  love  of  the 
Father  and  with  that  kingdom  of  righteous 
ness,  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
is  not  of  the  world,  but  of  God.  Therefore, 
God  says :  "  Be  not  conformed  to  the  world,  but 
be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your 
mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is  that  good, 
and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God." 
Rom.  xii.  2. 

As  we'  look  at  the  professing  Christians  of 
to-day,  the  question  arises,  Are  they  not  all 
conformed  to  the  maxims  and  fashions  of  this 
world,  even  many  of  those  who  profess  to  have 
been  sanctified?  But  they  say  the  transform 
ing  and  renewing  here  spoken  of  means,  as  it 
says,  the  mind,  not  the  clothing.  But,  if  the 
mind  be  renewed,  it  must  affect  the  clothing. 
It  is  by  the  Word  of  God  we  are  to  be  judged, 
not  by  our  opinion  of  the  Word;  hence,  to  the 
law  and  the  testimony.  In  a  like  manner  the 
Word  also  says :  "  That  women  adorn  them 
selves  in  modest  apparel,  with  shamefacedness 
and  sobriety,  not  with  broidered  hair,  or  gold, 
or  pearls,  or  costly  array,  but  which  becometh 
a  woman  professing  godliness,  with  good 
works."  1  Tim.  ii.  9,  10;  1  Pet.  iii.  3-5.  I 
might  quote  many  passages  to  the  same  effect, 


118  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 

if  I  had  time  or  room.  Will  you  not  hunt 
them  up,  and  read  carefully  and  prayerfully 
for  yourselves  ? 

Dear  Christians,  is  not  the  low  state  of  pure 
religion  among  all  the  churches  the  result  of 
this  worldly-mindedness  ?  There  is  much  out 
ward  show ;  and  doth  not  this  outward  show 
portend  the  sore  judgments  of  God  to  be  exe 
cuted  upon  the  ministers  and  members  ?  Mal- 
achi  ii.  7,  says :  "  The  priest's  lips  should  keep 
knowledge,"  etc.  But  it  is  a  lamentable  fact 
that  too  many  priests'  lips  speak  vanity. 
Many  profess  to  teach,  but  few  are  able  to  feed 
the  lambs,  while  the  sheep  are  dying  for  lack 
of  nourishment  and  the  true  knowledge  of  sal 
vation. 

The  priests'  office  being  to  stand  between 
God  and  the  people,  they  ought  to  know  the 
mind  of  God  toward  his  people  —  what  the 
acceptable  and  perfect  will  of  God  is.  Under 
the  law,  it  was  required  that  the  priests  should 
be  without  blemish — having  the  whole  of  the 
inward  and  outward  man  as  complete,  uniform 
and  consistent  as  it  was  possible  to  be  under 
that  dispensation;  thereby  showing  the  great 
purity  that  is  required  by  God  in  all  those 
who  approach  near  unto  him.  "  Speak  unto 
Aaron  and  his  sons  that'  they  separate  them 
selves,"  etc.  The  Lord  here  gives  a  charge  to 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  119 

the  priests,  under  a  severe  penalty,  that  in  all 
their  approaches  they  shall  sanctify  them 
selves.  Thus  God  would  teach  his  ministers 
and  people  that  he  is  a  holy  God,  and  will  be 
worshiped  in  the  beauty  of  holiness  by  all 
those  who  come  into  his  presence. 

Man  may  fill  his  office  in  the  church  out 
wardly,  and  God  may  in  much  mercy  draw 
nigh  to  the  people  when  devoutly  assembled 
to  worship  him ;  but,  if  the  minister  has  not 
had  previous  recourse  to  the  fountain  which  is 
opened  for  sin  and  uncleanness,  and  felt  the 
sanctifying  and  renewing  influences  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  will  feel  himself  shut  out  from 
these  divine  communications.  Oh,  that  God 
may  baptize  the  ministry  and  church  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire. 

By  the  baptism  of  fire  the  church  must  be 
purged  from  its  dead  forms  and  notions  respect 
ing  the  inbeing  of  sin  in  all  believers  till 
death.  The  Master  said:  "Now  ye  are  clean 
through  the  word  which  I  have  spoken  unto 
you;  abide  in  me,"  etc.  Oh!  blessed  union. 
Christian,  God  wants  to  establish  your  heart 
unblamable  in  holiness.  1  Thess.  i.  13;  iv.  7; 
Heb.  xii.  14;  Rom.  vi.  19.  Will  you  let  him 
do  it,  by  putting  away  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh 
as  well  as  of  the  spirit?  "Know  ye  not  that 
ye  are  the  temple  of  God  ?"  etc.  1  Cor.  iii.  16, 


120  A  BKAND   [PLUCKED 

17;  2  Cor.  vi.  16, 17.  Thus  we  will  continue  to 
search  and  find  what  the  will  of  God  is  con 
cerning  his  children.  1  Thess.  iv.  3,  4.  Bless 
God !  we  may  all  have  that  inward,  instanta 
neous  sanctification,  whereby  the  root,  the 
inbeing  of  sin,  is  destroyed. 

Do  not  misunderstand  me.  I  am  not  teach 
ing  absolute  perfection,  for  that  belongs  to  God 
alone.  Nor  do  I  mean  a  state  of  angelic  or 
Adamic  perfection,  but  Christian  perfection — 
an  extinction  of  every  temper  contrary  to 
love. 

"Now,  the  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly — 
your  whole  spirit,  soul  and  body.  2  Thess.  v. 
23.  Glory  to  the  blood !"  "  Faithful  is  he  that 
calleth  you,  who  also  will  do  it."  Paul  says : 
He  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly,  above 
all  that  we  ask  or  think.  Eph.  iii.  20. 

Beloved  reader,  remember  that  you  cannot 
commit  sin  and  be  a  Christian,  for  "He  that 
committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil."  If  you  are 
regenerated,  sin  does  not  reign  in  your  mortal 
body;  but  if  you  are  sanctified,  sin  does  not 
exist  in  you.  The  sole  ground  of  our  perfect 
peace  from  all  the  carnal  mind  is  by  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  for  he  is  our  peace,  whom  God  hath 
set  forth  to  be  a  propiation,  through  faith  in 
his  blood.  "  By  whom  also  we  have  access  by 
faith  into  this  grace  wherein  we  stand" — hav- 


FROM   THE   FIRE.  121 

ing  entered  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus. 

Let  the  blood  be  the  sentinel,  keeping  the 
tempter  without,  that  you  may  have  constant 
peace  within;  for  Satan  cannot  swim 
waters.    Isa.  xxx.  7. 


122  A   BRAND   PLUCKED 


CHAPTER   XXX 
to 


"MIXTURE  of  joy  and  sorrow 
I  daily  do  pass  through; 
Sometimes  I'm  in  the  valley, 
Then  sinking  down  with  woe. 

Chorus  —  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lamb, 
Holy  is  the  Lamb  of  God, 
Whose  blood  doth  make  me  clean. 

"Sometimes  I  am  exalted, 
On  eagle's  wings  I  fly; 
Rising  above  Mount  Pisgah, 

I  almost  reach  the  sky. —  Chorus. 

"Sometimes  I  am  in  doubting, 

And  think  I  have  no  grace; 
Sometimes  I  am  a-shouting, 

And  camp-meeting  is  the  place. —  Chorus. 

"Sometimes,  when  I  am  praying, 

It  almost  seems  a  task ; 
Sometimes  I  get  a  blessing, 
The  greatest  I  can  ask.— Chorus. 


FEOM   THE   FIRE.  123 

"Sometimes  I  read  my  Bible, 

It  seems  a  sealed  book; 
Sometimes  I  find  a  blessing 
Wherever  I  do  look. —  Chorus 

"  Oh,  why  am  I  thus  tossed  — 

Thus  tossed  to  and  fro  ? 
Because  the  blood  of  Jesus 

Hasn't  washed  me  white  as  snow. —  CJwrus. 

"Oh,  come  to  Jesus  now,  and  drink 

Of  that  holy,  living  stream; 
Your  thirst  he'll  quench,  your  soul  revive, 
And  cleanse  you  from  all  sin." — Chorus. 

How  is  sanctification  to  be  obtained?  An 
important  question.  I  answer,  by  faith.  Faith 
is  the  only  condition  of  sanctification.  By  th  is 
I  mean  a  faith  that  dies  out  to  the  world  and 
every  form  of  sin ;  that  gives  up  the  sin  of  the 
heart;  and  that  believes,  according  to  God's 
promise,  he  is  able  to  perform,  and  will  do  it 
now — doeth  it  now. 

Why  not  yield,  believe,  and  be  sanctified 
now — now,  while  reading?  "Now  is  the  day 
of  salvation."  Say:  "Here,  Lord,  I  will,  I  do 
believe ;  thou  hast  said  now — now  let  it  be — 
now  apply  the  blood  of  Jesus  to  my  waiting, 
longing  soul." 

"Hallelujah!    'tis  done! 
I  believe  on  the  Son ; 
I  am  saved  by  the  blood 
Of  the  crucified  One." 


124          A   BRAND   PLUCKED    FROM   THE   FIRE. 

N 

Now,  dear  reader,  I  conclude  by  praying 
that  this  little  work  may  be  blessed  of  God  to 
your  spiritual  and  everlasting  good.  I  trust 
also  that  it  will  promote  the  cause  of  holiness 
in  the  Church. 

Now,  unto  Him  who  is  able  to  do  exceeding 
abundantly,  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think, 
according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us; 
unto  Him  be  glory  in  the  church  by  Christ 
Jesus  throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end. 
Amen. 


